Dr Stone - The Hero Known as Perseus
by Kai Travis
Summary: One's life can change in an instant, especially in a world were Medusa is real. Waking up 3700 years into the future, Ayane Mochizuki's spirit is put to the test as she tries to survive in a world she thought she knew.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: Hello everyone, just wanted to say hello and ask for a bit of help. Writing a story that pretty much involves science is a bit hard, so if there are thing that don't seem right, please tell me in the reviews, that will help me a lot in the coming chapters. Also please leave your thoughts on the story as well, your reviews will also help me make the story as interesting as possible. Anyways, hope you enjoy the story.**_

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_**8 a.m (A few days before the Petrification) …**_

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Looking at the large poster that hung in front of the shoe locker isle, a girl noticed a name and had begun to smile. Trying her best to contain her excitement, the girl walked away. After walking into the school garden, where she thought no eyes would see her, the girl had begun to break into a smile.

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"Hahaha!" The girl had begun to cheer, and dance around in excitement. "I placed in the top 5 of the school!"

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Cheering without restraint had caused a couple of other students to look her way and begin to giggle. Hearing their giggles, caused the girl to blush and hide from their sights.

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"You know, I have to hand it to Ayane." Another girl, who had short, brown hair, clipped together by a rose colored ribbon on the back of her head. "She really did give it all she had."

"You shouldn't be praising her. You know her aunt just told the school to give her that rank, Sara." A boy spoke, as he began to point directly at Ayane, who at this point was hiding behind a tree from pure embarrassment.

"Well, to be perfectly honest, I didn't see Ms. Fukushima at all during the exam week." Sara spoke, as she smiled. "Let's just let the girl enjoy her victory. I'll beat her next time."

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And with that the two left, Ayane looked from behind the tree she hid behind, she noticed the kids gone and had sighed a huge sigh of relief. Looking down at her clothes, she took note of her uniform. She wore a tiered skirts in navy and just reveal her calves. It is also paired with striped socks and toe cap shoes colored in bronze and navy respectively. She also wore a long sleeved shirt, which she usually like to leave it somewhat messily hanging (Not big on appearances) over her skirt and covered with a fairly long jacket.

Smiling sadly, Ayane closed her eyes and opened them, only to feel the wind blow roughly. As it began to blow, her long black hair, with a band of hair which loosely hung just above her right eye, which reached to just above her lower back, had begun to sway due to the wind. Her body was also slim, showing itself even under all the heavy clothing.

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"It's barely Spring, and the winds already blowing this hard." Ayane Mochizuki spoke as she began to walk away. "But I guess that's middle school life for you."

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The day went uneventfully, some of the kids in Ayane's class had ignored the teacher just to watch several Japanese astronauts launch themselves into space. Ayane, was of course some of those kids watching the news on their phones.

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"This is so cool!" One of the kids spoke as he looked at his phone.

"Hey, let me see." Ayane spoke as she pulled the kid back to get a better look.

"Geez, Ayane." The boy giggled a little as he leaned back and held his phone so he and Ayane can see the what was happening, only to get a big surprise.

"Hey, Senku!" One of the astronauts yelled into the microphone provided to him. "Knowing you, you probably aren't watching the broadcast, but just in case…" As the man got closer to the camera, he said with a smile spread across his face… "I'll be sure to bring a ton of scientific gifts back for you! So, just wait."

"I wonder who this Senku guy is?" Ayane spoke softly only to get a response she didn't need.

"Probably this guy's friend or something?" The boy responded.

"I was talking to myself." Ayane began to blush as she pushed the boy back forward and continued to focus on the class that was currently in session.

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As the day came to an end, and after listening to Diva Lillian before leaving the school, Ayane noticed something out of the corner of her eye. As she stopped in her tracks, she began to backtrack her steps and noticed a life-like stone bird atop of a bush just before her school gate. Curious as to what that may be, Ayane began to creep forward, ever so slowly, until she was able to get a good look at the frozen bird.

Seeing it up close, the statue of the bird looked more life-like than she had anticipated. Astounded beyond words, Ayane picked up the bird, removed her jacket, and gently wrapped the stone bird in between to prevent it from breaking. As she left the school in a hurry, she didn't realize the giant man that had begun to walk right next to her. After a slight bump, Ayane was pushed to her right, and nearly fell to the ground, if not for the giant man to move and catch her at the last minute.

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"Are you alright?" The giant's man gentle voice spoke.

"Yes, thank you." Ayane spoke as she looked up to the man, to see his tall, muscular skin. His wild brown hair, and his slight pale skin. But what stood out the most was his gentle smile. As he began to wrap his arm around Ayane's slim body, she felt her body heat begin to increase. Finally snapping out of her fantasy, she pushed slightly to let the man know the situation. "I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to bump into you." Ayane apologized profusely.

"It's alright. Might I know your name?" The man's gentle voice never wavered as he continued to speak.

"Oh, it's Ayane. Ayane Mochizuki." Ayane introduced herself without a second thought.

"Ayane. I'll be sure to keep that in mind. Well, be careful." And with that the man had begun to leave, only for Ayane to speak up before he was out of earshot.

"You're Tsukasa Shishio, aren't you?!" As the Tsukasa turned around, he smiled once more, almost as if to answer her question, and left without another word. "He's so cool."

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* * *

_**The Day of the Petrification…**_

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Just before her time to leave for school, Ayane was seen sleeping on her desk with a model of a ship she had just completed. As the sun began to shine ever so dimly in her room, the light woke Ayane up and she began to prepare for school.

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"See you later, Perseus." Ayane spoke to the ship as she ran out her room after getting changed.

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* * *

_**Later in the afternoon…**_

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As Ayane began to walk the school ground by herself, she looked up to noticed something odd about the afternoon she was walking in. Mostly something this simple wasn't enough to put anyone on edge, but it was enough of an indicator to say something was amiss.

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"Where are the birds?" Ayane spoke to herself as she noticed that there weren't many birds chirping, which was odd to her since it was still in the early part of spring. "As Ayane began to look around, she noticed her shadow begin to shrink, and noticed another shadow begin to grow, curious as to what was happening, she turned her attention to the mysterious light that was causing the new shadow, only to see a green light rushing towards her like a tsunami.

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Scared out of her mind, Ayane began to shiver, and out of instinct held onto the tree next to her. Everything that she thought of had begun to fit into place, the life-like stone birds, the silence of the animals that should've been making noise in the early afternoon. It was because they felt some type of danger coming and decided to run away. But by the time she had pieced it all together, Ayane felt herself unable to move.

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"_What's going on? I can't move!_" As Ayane tried to scream for help, she noticed she couldn't move her lips either. And to top it all off, she realized that her world had become pitch black. Calming her mind, Ayane had begun to think rationally. "_Okay, in times like these, what do you do again? Oh right! You start counting!_" And Ayane had done just that, she had begun to count. "_1…2…3…_" And she counted and counted and counted.

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* * *

_**3700 Years Later…**_

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"_The year 5734, It been roughly 3700 year, I think...1...2...3...__How much more counting do I have to do?_" Ayane thought to herself, as she felt herself begin to black out. "_No, don't black out, just yet. If you do, you're as good as dead, Ayane. Come on, keep counting._" But as she was about to, Ayane realized something. "_This isn't good…I forgot where I stopped at. I wanted to try and wake up in the spring, but if I count now, I'll have to start over. I have to get out now._" Now in a desperate situation, Ayane, using what willpower she had, tried to move, only to see it as futile. "_I can't…No, don't give up. I'm just scared of waking up in the winter, I have to move. If I don't, who knows how long I'll be in here. So…move. Move! I…_" As cracks began to appear on her petrified statue, it began from her foot, and began to travel up to her face. As it did, Ayane felt herself beginning to move. "_Come on! MOVE! MOVE!_" And within seconds, Ayane fell forward, and onto the ground with a hard thump. "Ow, that hurt. Wait, that hurt?" As she sat on her knees, Ayane looked at her hands, and had begun to shake. Not due to the immense cold she felt, but from the relief she felt upon seeing her hands once more. "I'm…free. I'm…FREE!" Ayane yelled with glee as she looked up toward the night sky. "I did it. I'm free…" But her joy was short lived as she sneezed and had begun to shiver. "I knew it. It is winter."

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Getting up and walking around, Ayane had begun to shiver more and more. It got to the point to where she couldn't even walk due to her immense shivering. But also due to the odd terrain she saw before her.

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"What's…w-w-with this forest?" Ayane spoke to herself as she looked around to try and find a landmark she could recognize. "I don't recognize anything. This…this is bad. But first…" Then before Ayane realized, she had begun to spin a stick on a plank of wood. Spinning and spinning the stick as fast as she could with both her cold frozen hand, Ayane continued even when she had begun to freeze to her bones. Then after five minutes, fate rained down upon her, as she saw a spark, then a small flame, to which she began placing leaves and small twigs down upon it as she blew on the flame. As it expanded, Ayane began to add more and more twigs to the fire, until the flame was large enough to reach just above her mid-thigh. As she sat on her legs, Ayane rubbed her hands together and placed them near the flame to warm up. "Well, at least I got the fire situated, now, I need clothes. The best option would be… leaves and vines."

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But as she tried to move, her legs gave up and she fell to her side. Looking at her legs, Ayane noticed how hard they had begun to shiver. Huddling herself near the flame, Ayane looked up to see something that gave her hope once more. Its arched handle, and boxed form in the beginning giving the shape of a plough. Even though its light was faint, she was still able to make out what the constellation was. Taking a breath out, Ayane smiled and said in a whisper voice.

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"It's the Ursa Major." Ayane whispered to herself. "I know exactly what month I'm in. I'm in the transition week of school. Meaning, it's the beginning of March."

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Grabbing onto the tree behind her, Ayane began to feel around on the ground around for something to write with. Feeling something sharp prick her hand, Ayane picked up what pricked her, and noticed it to be a sharp rock. As she did, a bright light shined in her right eye, indicating to her that a new day was beginning. Getting up with the last of her strength, Ayane grabbed hold of the tree that was behind her and began to scratch at it. Going by what she saw, Ayane predicted what the day would be, not that it mattered, since no one kept track of the days or months in almost…

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"Oh right." Ayane said to herself as she began to scratch numbers into the tree. "Today is March 1st… um…If I remember correctly, I left off on…Oh, right…according to my numbers, it has roughly been 3700 years, meaning it's the year 5734." She spoke to herself disconcertingly as she wasn't confident in her answer. "But this is good, I for sure thought that I was somewhere in mid-December." And just as she was about to walk off, a cold breeze blew between her legs, as if it was trying to inform her about her current predicament. "Oh, right. First, clothes. Next, adventure."

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After putting out the fire and grabbing as much vine as she could from the tree branches above her, Ayane cut each vine as best as she could with her own arm strength and tied each and every one together as closely as possible. As she finished, she tied the quick made vine skirt, and a vine-made bra, Ayane began her search for a suitable place to sleep.

Searching east, searching west, looking at the weird formation of trees. Seeing odd plants growing in places she would've never thought, the new views of the world she was now a part of excited her to no end. Even when she looked in the water to see herself and noticed a band of white hair streaking in front of her right eye, as well as the petrified mark that encircled her right eye as well. Then, seeing a group of monkeys looking at her with the same curiosity she had, Ayane smiled at them and continued to walk along the path of the river she was currently next to. But as reality began to sink in, her stomach began to growl.

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"I'm hungry." Looking around, she noticed a berry bush and began to inspect it carefully. "Nothing seems to be wrong with it. There are no other odd plants near it, so I guess its fine." And with that, Ayane picked up one berry and threw it in her mouth, only to get sour response. "Wow! That's sour. But, it's the only thing I have." Grabbing a few at a time, Ayane threw berry after berry in her mouth, until she could take it no more. Then drinking water from the river, Ayane continued on her expedition.

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Her luck seemed to have run out as the day had begun to end, and she still nowhere near finding a good place to sleep or make camp for that matter. And to make matters worse, she ran into a group of lions, and narrowly escaped death. But as the sun began to set, she continued to wander aimlessly. Thinking she'd never find a good spot, the young girl couldn't quite make out what she saw, but her face instantly lit up when she saw an opening in the mountain.

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"A cave!" As she ran toward the cave, Ayane, not being able to see clearly in the dark, tripped on something that felt as hard as a rock. "Ow, that hurt." As she looked to see what she tripped on, she noticed a boy, whose age looked to be about 5 years older than her, with spiked up hair and his hand extended outward, almost as if he had something in his hand when he was petrified. "Sorry about that. I didn't see you." And with that Ayane ran into the cave for shelter.

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* * *

_**The Next Day…**_

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After waking up in the humid, warm cave due to the small fire she started, Ayane began her day again. But not wanting to leave the sanctuary she found, she tried to stay nearby, by all means necessary. Finding a nearby lake solved one of her problems, but she knew she needed other supplies as well.

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"I've solved the clothes problems for now. But I need to find something more suitable, and weapons." Looking up, Ayane continued to think until she came to her answer. "Oh, that's right. The first humans used rocks I believe."

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After breaking a thin branch from a nearby tree, Ayane began her best to try and strip the bark that laid on top with the sharp rock she had earlier.

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* * *

_**Several Hours Later…**_

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As her hands shook from the excess movements she had to use in order to peel the bark, Ayane had successfully peeled every last inch. Looking at her hands she began to notice blisters beginning to form, as well as seeing the moon beginning to rise over the mountain, Ayane returned to her cave.

Spending the remainder of the night sanding down the large pieces of bark she had into thinly made, bendable slabs. Ayane then placed the rock down and the piece of wood she was working on and looked out into the distance of the cave. As the weather began to warm ever so slightly, each day seemed to last longer than the previous. Thinking she was going to be alone for the remainder of her life, Ayane had begun to tear up, only to shake her head and focus on what was in front of her.

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"I can't lose hope just yet. I have to keep going." After taking a deep breath in, Ayane smelled something odd. She couldn't quite make it out since she had never smelled it before. Out of morbid curiosity, Ayane rose to her feet and went to check the mysterious smell. It didn't take long to find the source, due to the cave being rather small at the entrance, and only expanding just enough at the back to have the cave ceiling being just several feet above Ayane's head. As she looked up, Ayane noticed bats hanging from the top of the cave, and as she got closer, she began to smell the odor she smelled at the entrance more strongly. Covering her nose due to its putrid smell, Ayane saw something dripping down into the ground on a pile that looked to be… "Crap." Ayane spoke silently as she didn't want to be attacked, nor die, by the hand of bats. "And what's that liquid dripping from the ceiling?" Placing her hand underneath, she began to let it pile on her hand, but soon came to regret it, as it began to burn her hand. Shaking off the liquid, Ayane looked at her hand to noticed a small blister forming. "This stuff is corrosive…" But before she could finish her sentence she noticed a bit of metal as well as water droplets running in the same direction to where she stood. "Metal, and water…It is also corrosive, meaning it has to be an acid. But what?" Thinking as best as she could, her middle school mind was being put to the test. Looking at what was around her, she began to try and put all that she saw together, but in the end she couldn't figure out what the mysterious liquid was.

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Leaving it alone for the time being, Ayane returned to what she was originally doing. Sanding the piece of wood, then beginning to wrap it into a thin, semi-flat basket. Satisfied with her work, she lifted the newly created basket in the air and smiled.

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"This is great. Now, I just need to find a bunch of rocks that can be used to create spears. The best rocks for the job would be any, but the rock I need in order to make them were… Oh, right. Hammerstones." As she began to think, she looked off into the distance, Ayane noticed the moon disappearing from her sight. Breathing in then out to calm her nerves, Ayane set out for a new day. As she took the rock she had on her, and began to scratch at the cave wall. "Day 3 has begun. Let's do this." Ayane said with conviction as she held the newly made basket to her right and walked out of the cave and onto the new dangers ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Start of Week 8…**_

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Waiting above from a tree with her back against the body of the tree, Ayane looked towards a small cave hidden by bushes, and waited. For nearly 8 weeks, Ayane had set her sights on a pregnant mother wolf or dog, she wasn't too sure, since its fur was partly to blame, being that of a brownish gray color instead of being one or the other. Playing the waiting game has become a daily part of Ayane's new life, even when she didn't want it. Sighing, she turned her attention from the small cave to the clothes she wore.

Ayane wore animal skin clothing, which was difficult for her, since it was her first time killing. Even when it was for survival, it was still difficult for her to complete it. Her clothes consisted of a long sleeve shirt, and a mid-thigh length skirt. Ayane never had a knack for sewing, but she wasn't that bad at it. For the first several days, she had to endure trial and error over and over again, since it was her first time alone. Most of her time sewing was done with her aunt and mother, but since she was alone in this petrified world, she had to use what knowledge was in her head to create the clothes she wore.

Then upon hearing the sound of leaves rustling, Ayane turned her attention back towards the small cave, to see a wolf emerging from in between the bushes. Placing her feet down on the branch she sat on, Ayane waited. Then seeing the wolf leave, Ayane waited for a few minutes, before beginning to move. As she cautiously approached the small cave, she began hearing small whimpers and barks. Parting the bushes with her hand, Ayane looked inside to see four pups, huddling together. Extending her hand out, one pup opened one of its eyes to see Ayane's hand approaching.

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* * *

_**Back at her "Home Base" …**_

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Running a long ways away from the small cave she found, Ayane held in her arms a small, 8 week old wolf. Knowing the dangers this new world had, she needed some type of protection, and this pup was her answer. Looking ahead, she noticed a small hut situated on top of a gigantic branch of a tree, which stood slumped on its side. Seeing that, a smile spread itself across Ayane's face.

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"This is our new home, I finished it 2 days ago. It took a while, and may need some improvements, but its home." As Ayane approached the hut, she took note of it. Its triangular roof covered with giant leaves, the medium doorway, and a staircase. The staircase was the only means to get into the hut, unless of course you had superhuman legs and can jump 7 feet into the air. Walking up the staircase, Ayane slipped through the door with the pup in her arm and the placed it down on the ground. "There you go. Go ahead and walk around, I'll come get you in a little bit.

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Leaving the pup alone, Ayane left and ran towards the cave. Even though she knew it was useless, for nearly 3 weeks, she began to collect the acid in hopes to find some use for it. Since her knowledge never went farther than that of a 1st year in high school, she didn't know what the acid was or what its properties were. Arriving at the cave, Ayane noticed the large jug beginning to fill to the brim. Grabbing the other jug, she had left there before she left to grab the pup, she swapped out the jugs and allowed the second one to fill up. Placing a bamboo lid on top of the jug, Ayane lifted the jug over her right shoulder and walked off into the distance.

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"Man, this thing is heavy. And it doesn't help that the liquid inside keeps moving around." Ayane complained to herself as she carried the jug away from her camp and into the mountains just several yards away. "Well, no matter. Let me just take this to that mountain opening I saw a while back and place the jug there. It should be safe for the time being."

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Upon arriving at a steep drop in the mountain cliff, Ayane took a deep breath in, and slowly but surely, made her way down the rickety path available to her. Sweating profusely, Ayane carefully took step after step to ensure her own safety. She knew if she rushed it, not only will the jug fall to the bottom of the mountain, she will fall as well. Stopping ever so often, Ayane took a deep breath from her heavy shaking, and continued. For what seemed like hours, Ayane finally made it to the cave she wanted to, but as she stepped foot into it, she realized something.

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"My feet are wet? Why?" As Ayane placed the jug down, she heard the sound of a splash resonating in the cave. "There's water? Why is it building up now? Or better question, where is it building up from?" Following the sound of the water, Ayane began to hear rushing water on the opposite side of the wall in front of her. "There's probably a natural river on the other side, I'll have to check later." And with that Ayane left the jar in the back of the cave, where the least ray of the sun hit, and returned to the camp.

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Upon arriving, she began to hear a rustle coming from her little hut. Curious as to what was happening, Ayane climbed up only to see something she wasn't expecting. She saw the young pup, rolling around and jumping and moving side to side, all while playing with Ayane's blanket, like it was an enemy.

As the pup began to gnaw at it ever so often, and tried to move towards it, the movements the pup gave caused the blanket to jerk and sway causing the pup to roll and back away. Not being able to handle the funny moment she saw, Ayane began to laugh, scaring the pup and causing it to try and run on the blanket, only to then slide on its face and roll into the hut's wall. Feeling sorry for the little guy, Ayane went and picked him up in her and sat on her bed. Stroking the pup's fur, she felt the pup's heavy breathing as it began to calm down under the warmth of Ayane's hand. Even Ayane herself was not immune to the puppy's tired situation. As her vision started to get blurry, Ayane began to go in and out of consciousness, until finally exhaustion won the two beings over and both her and the pup fell asleep.

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* * *

_**4 Months Later…**_

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As the water from the lake broke, Ayane was seen swimming in the lake. It had only been close to four months since her re-awakening, and she nowhere close to figuring out anything. In those four months, Ayane had collected over 12 medium sized barrels and had left them in the cave she found, only to see the water had rescinded. Leaving her with the theory that some other natural force pushed the water up toward the wall and began to flood the cave, but the time span was something she was still unsure of. Continuously thinking of other necessities, she needed, Ayane heard a bark coming from the shoreline of the lake and noticed Hansuke, the wolf cub she took a couple months back looking a bit older, barking to grab her attention. Seeing this, Ayane began to swim back to shore.

Sneaking toward where Hansuke directed, Ayane noticed an animal caught in her trap. Rubbing Hansuke's head, Ayane climbed the tree to get a better view, before jumping down and cutting the animals head clean off.

Within moments, both Ayane and Hansuke were eating a sheep, something Ayane never would have thought possible, since she had never seen one up until now. Looking towards her companion, Ayane spoke.

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"Hansuke, is it good?" Ayane asked, only to get a bark. "That's a good boy." Ayane spoke as she rubbed Hansuke's head frivolously. "But still, what are we going to do with all this wool?" Ayane asked herself as she looked at the mountain of wool their dinner had. "If only I had a comb. The tools I have will break easily if placed under too much pressure." Getting up and placing her hand on hips, Ayane exclaimed in a loud voice. "Then I guess I'll have to do it myself! Hahahaha!" After laughing, Hansuke replied with a long howl.

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Using the first basket she ever made after her awakening, Ayane began to pull and tear each of the wool strands as straight as possible and placed it in the basket she had on her right. As she looked back towards the tree she sat under and began to admire the work she had done. Smiling to herself, she continued to pull at the strands for as long as she could. Even as the sun began to set, Ayane focused on thinning the strands. Even when Hansuke placed his head on Ayane's lap to sleep, she continued to focus on the strands. It was the only thing she could do at the moment, in this vast world, her skills were limited to what she knew, and what tools she had.

As the sun had set completely, Ayane stared off into the distances, and just sat there not really thinking about anything other than what to do the next day. Then after a good few minutes, Ayane's mind had begun to rotate its gears once more.

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"Oh, that's right. The jug, better go switch it out." As Ayane rose to her feet, she woke up Hansuke, shook himself, and followed the young girl.

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Arriving at the cave, Ayane got the last jug she was ever going to use for the acid and walked off with it. Returning to camp, jug in hand, Ayane placed it down and began to ponder what to do next. Rubbing her head for a few minutes, Ayane had not noticed that a certain stray was missing, at least until she began to hear him howl.

Following his howls, Ayane noticed Hansuke seated next to the statue that was in front of the cave. Tapping her right thigh, Hansuke rose to his feet and left the statue behind.

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"_Seriously, I'm I the only one in this world?_" Ayane thought to herself as she finally returned to her camp once more to sleep off the night.

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* * *

_**6 Months and 2 weeks after Re-awakening...**_

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Almost a year has passed since Ayane's awakening, and she had made no progress in ever finding out if she was alone in this vast world. Leaving camp, and then returning by the end of the week became a routine for her. Traveling farther and farther away from camp, only to return to the sanctuary she now called home. Of course, Hansuke followed, not wanting the let his new family traverse such dangerous territory. But among their travels, Ayane did manage to create something that was very useful to her in this Stone Age.

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"**Stone Era: October 18****th****, 5734**." Ayane said out loud as she began to use a thin rectangular slab of wood and an ash made crayon. Placing the crayon on the slab, Ayane wrote: "_Today I have traveled for nearly 5 hours, and with the sun rising over the horizon a new day has begun. Today is also the first day I'm beginning these entries, with the use of wooden slabs._" Ayane wrote as she laughed. "_Honestly, I tried to make parchment before, but in the end, making wooden slabs was a hell of a lot easier than making parchment. The only difficulty was cutting the wood. Since stone weapons and tools aren't as accurate as a metal tool, I had to do a lot of trial and error until I came to the result I wanted. Also, back in…_" Thinking about it more carefully, Ayane said to herself, "Should I be calling my time ancient Japan or Modern? Well not that it matters." Then she went back to writing. "_Ancient Modern Japan, we had things known as paper. They were really useful and a made writing a lot easier than what I'm doing now. But since I don't have the knowledge, or tools, to accurately make paper, this was the next best thing._"

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Placing down her clay ash made crayon, Ayane began to watch as the sun rose ever so slowly over the mountain tops. Placing everything away within a small bag she sewed together, she continued her way back home.

Upon arriving, she was greeted by a happy and overly excited Hansuke. Jumping up on his hindlegs, Ayane bent down to greet the critter. Grabbing his growing face, Ayane rubbed her nose against the dog's and after a good few moment, rose to her feet and walked towards her little hut. Exhausted beyond compare, Ayane plopped herself on the bed and slept, not bothered by the sun shining through the cracks of the house.

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* * *

_**5 Hours Later…**_

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Opening her eyes, Ayane heard some rustling coming from outside her hut. Getting up, still half asleep, Ayane crawled through the doorway, and looked off towards her yard to see Hansuke digging a hole as quickly as he could. Confused by this, Ayane rubbed her eyes as she walked towards him. Then after a good few minutes, Ayane spoke.

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"Hey, Hansuke? What are you doing?" Hansuke's only response was looking up towards the girl and went back to digging. "What are you doing?"

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After another few minutes of digging, Ayane noticed Hansuke walk off and come back with a bone with him. Ayane began to wonder where the dog even grabbed such a thing, but in the end decided to ask. Grabbing a stick that was longer than her arm, Ayane began to scrap at it with a small dagger she created from the rocks she had. Scraping away, Ayane was more focused then she had ever been, but even with all the focus she had, one thought had always lingered in her mind.

As she began to scrape faster, the image of the petrification beam rushing towards her caused her to dig far to deeply into her work and began to cause her to shake without restraint.

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"_Why is it now that the memory begins to affect me? I thought I was past that traumatization?_" Ayane spoke to herself, only to calm down when Hansuke began rubbing his head against her side. Seeing this, giving a relieved smile, Ayane rubbed her own head against his and spoke. "It's fine. I'm alright. Thank you."

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_**December 31**__**st**__**…**_

* * *

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"_As the old year leaves, a new one approaches._" Ayane wrote on a slab of wood as she looked off into the distance and saw snow falling ever so gently towards. "_For about 2 months I have tried learning how to fight with a wooden sword. I must have a way to defend myself after all… Not that Hansuke's assistance is bad or anything. You know, just to have more options, and…stuff._" After placing down the clay crayon, Ayane smiled sadly. "I'm honestly impressed at the fact that I can remember everything I've read and studied at this point. Especially sword fighting skills and tactics."

.

Getting on her feet, Ayane grabbed the roughly made wooden sword and began to swing. Her goal was to do 100 each day, but for the past 2 months she increased it to 500. Being the great observer, she was, Ayane always remembered what she saw, and kept mental notes of what was done.

.

* * *

_**3 hours later…**_

* * *

.

"498…499…500." Swinging and swinging, she was going at a slower pace than she wanted, but in order to ensure that her body got used to the new movement, Ayane thought the slow progress was necessary. "Okay. Now I just need to do this a few more times, then I'll be ready to go faster. Okay, let's do it again." And thus, she began to swing the heavy wooden sword once more.

.

For the remainder of her time before the sun began to set, Ayane tirelessly swung her wooden sword. After every 500, she begin to run around the surrounding area to build up her stamina. Even though, the heavy clothing she wore restricted her movements quite a bit, Ayane continued to push forward with all her might.

.

"_Right foot forward._" Ayane told herself as she changed her footing once again. "_Okay, then it was left foot not too far back. But also pointed out a bit._" Holding this new stance in the frigid cold December air, Ayane held on for as long as she could. "_Okay, here we go again. 500 swings, but this time a bit faster._" Lifting her sword high above her head, Ayane swung down and began to count.

.

* * *

_**January 1**__**st**__**, 5735…**_

* * *

.

"_The New Year begins, and so do new troubles._" Ayane wrote as she sneezed without restraint. "_Because I overworked myself yesterday, and neglected to keep myself in check, and forgot to keep into account my own health. Back in Ancient Modern Japan, if we got sick, we had medicine to help out with our sickness. But in this Stone Age world, there is no medicine._" As Ayane sneezed again, she began to rub her chest due to the pain she felt from sneezing so much. As she did, Hansuke sat alongside her and placed his head on her leg, to try and comfort the sick girl. "_Ever since my revival, there is one name that has stuck: Senku. If I could find the man named Senku, whom may be one of the astronaut's friends who loves science more than anything, he might be able to make modern day medicine for future generation. I guess I'm going to have to use that acid from before._" Placing the slab down on the ground, Ayane laid down on her bed and fell to sleep. "Tomorrow, I'll get…started…on working…on finding…Senku."

.

As Ayane fell into a deep sleep, Hansuke continued to lay next to his master, to try and keep her as warm as he possibly could. Feeling the roughness of his fur on her cheek, Ayane unconsciously wrapped her arm around Hansuke's neck and continued to sleep, not once worried about the wind that blew from the outside.


	3. Chapter 3

_**January 20**__**th**__**, 5735…**_

.

Even though she continued to break out in sweat, Ayane continued to focus on the thing she wanted to find. The stone life-like bird she found 3700 years prior. She didn't want to take the risk of breaking the human statues, since she believed that they were still alive like she was when she was petrified.

.

"Come on. Where are they?" Ayane continued to look around, when out of nowhere, Hansuke came running back with something in his mouth. "Hmm? Hansuke, what's that?" Ayane asked as she pulled out what was in Hansuke's mouth, only to get an epiphany. Even though its left wing was broken, it clearly looked similar to the bird she had, maybe even a bit bigger. Bending down to look at Hansuke's face, Ayane asked. "Hansuke, take me to where you found this."

.

Barking, Hansuke turned around and began to run in the direction he came from. Following right behind him, Ayane was smiling from ear to ear at the luck Hansuke brought with him. As tears began to form in her eyes, Ayane couldn't help but get excited at the fact that her experiment was starting sooner than she expected.

After a few minutes of running, Hansuke began to sniff around until his nose pointed in the direction in front of him like a compass. Rubbing his head, Ayane walked up to the bush in front of her and began to brush off the snow that laid on top, only to feel something hard as stone. Smiling at the sight, Ayane put her hand in and pulled out another bird, placing the larger basket she made down just for the sake of carrying these birds back to camp, Ayane carefully placed the bird in only to see another close by. Continuously grabbing bird after bird, Ayane looked up after looking towards the ground for what seemed like 30 minutes and looked up to see a wall of statues. Standing still just watching the mountain, Ayane closed her eyes and put her hand together before departing back towards camp.

.

_**Back at Camp…**_

**.**

Looking around the camp, Ayane began to pull weed, mushrooms of all sorts, and flowers that bloomed within the snow, and even the sour grapes she ate during the first days of her reawakening.

.

"Okay, let's go." Ayane said with a grand smile on her face. "Luckily for me, Home Economics was the thing I was excellent in."

.

Grabbing some plants, Ayane was careful to place wool gloves to prevent her from touching the plants themselves, since she was still unsure if some were poisonous or not. Cutting, dicing, mashing and crushing, Ayane used all types of methods she could think of in that moment. Even as her body began to weaken due to her cold, she continued forward. Resting, then working, Ayane also made sure to keep an eye on her health so as to not fall ill and die pathetically.

After she had used all her ingredients, Ayane began to place the plants into separates clay cups, then added the acid she found in the cave, and mixed it, then let it sit for a couple days, giving her time to rest. She continued this process for a whole month and a half, with no luck whatsoever in any aspects.

.

_**March 1**__**st**__**…**_

.

"What I'm I doing wrong? Even though I've used everything I've had, and used every process I could think of, there has to be something I'm doing wrong…but what?" Ayane asked herself as she turned to her side, only to hear a struggle happening outside. "Hansuke?"

.

Walking out, Ayane noticed Hansuke looking at another wolf, who seemed to have woken up for the new Spring. Seeing this, Ayane didn't even hesitate to grab the spear she had made, and held in outward, and stood behind Hansuke. As Hansuke growled, the other wolf growled as well upon seeing a new threat. Trying to keep a good distance between the two wolves, Ayane gave a command.

.

"Hansuke, go!" Lunging at the command, Hansuke rushed his opponent and began to attack it without hesitation.

.

As the two dogs began to duke it out, they began to gnaw and scratch at each other. Even when Hansuke received scratches and gashes from his opponent, he didn't let up. Also trying her best to help out, Ayane continued to thrust the best she could with her spear to try and give Hansuke the room he needed to overpower his opponent more.

Not liking the situation, the wolf kicked Hansuke back and ran for Ayane. As it jumped, Ayane pulled up the spear's body and caught the wolf's mouth. As it kept biting, Ayane was having a hard time keeping him at bay, then looking up Ayane noticed something in the corner of her eye. Using all the strength she had, she pushed the wolf back and grabbed a small cup filled with the acid and one of her ingredients. Opening it, she turned and splashed it on the wolf's eyes, blinding it for second, and giving Hansuke the time he needed to finish the small battle.

Not being able to see, the wolf ran away with Hansuke right at its tail. At least until Ayane called out.

.

"Hansuke!" Ayane yelled out. "Come back. It's not worth it." Listening to his master, Hansuke returned to Ayane's loving embrace as the other wolf left with its tail in between its legs. "Come on. Let's clean up." As Ayane walked away, Hansuke continued to keep watch just to make sure no other dangers came into his territory.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

Running with all her might, Ayane was trying to get back to the Cave of Miracles, a name she gave it when she noticed a stone feather beginning to shatter due to the liquid she used on the wolf. But this matter was more important since…

.

"I can't believe I forgot the jug. I just hope it didn't fill to the brim." As she made it to the cave, she noticed a small stream of the acid riding down the small hill and running along the statue that laid in front of it. "Shit…I got to move the jug." And Ayane did. She ran into the cave, moved the jug away, and poured its contents away from the entrance of the cave, to ensure that the statue didn't erode too much. At least that is what she thought.

.

Since she didn't know much on acids, only that some are so potent that they can erode rocks in a matter of hours. After pouring the contents, Ayane went to the statue and noticed it still fully intact. Sighing in relief, Ayane went back to the jug, picked it up and walked away.

Arriving back at her camp, Ayane placed the jug down, and leaned herself against a tree. She had many questions on her mind, but she never had the time to think about it, since she had other pressing matter on her plate, and now for the first time in almost a year, her plate was clear and she was truly able to think about the questions that lingered in the back of her mind.

.

"Why was I the only one who woke up?" Ayane asked herself. "I looked around from where I woke up, only to noticed not a single trace of the acid. Was there someone else who woke up, and deliberately woke me up for some reason, or did I wake up some other way that doesn't involve the acid? Either way you look at it, the questions continued to pile on."

.

As Hansuke began to walk up close, Ayane bent down and began to rub his head, even though he hadn't' been eating much, he still was able to gain some muscle, probably not a lot, but enough to look intimidating.

.

"I guess tomorrow, we go and find more food, huh?" Ayane asked Hansuke who didn't bother to answer due to her hand rubbing his head.

.

As the two laid in bed, Ayane looked at the roof of her hut, while she unconsciously patted Hansuke's head while he slept.

.

"_Why did I wake up? Who woke me? What would they gain from waking up someone like me? What can I offer to this world?_" Ayane continuously asked herself questions not really trying to find a good point. "Well not that it matters, time to go to sleep."

.

Ayane rotated herself to face Hansuke and wrapped her arm around his neck and fell to sleep.

.

_**2 Months Later…**_

.

"_It has been two months since I began experimenting, again, in finding the cure to the petrification. I mean I found it before but used it in self-defense without so much as leaving a bit to go off on._" Ayane looked up from her slab to the large table she managed to create which held a ton of small clay cups and pots which carried the acid and different plant, herbs and berries. "_I've decided to expand my research by finding apples and using animal blood. I can't rule out any possibilities._"

.

Stretching her arms backwards, Ayane laid down on the ground and just stared off into the afternoon sky. Hansuke would always leave at this time, for some unknown reason, but at least it gave her time to think. Getting up to her feet, Ayane walked towards the table and began her experimentation.

.

"First let's start with the mushrooms." Ayane spoke to herself, as she placed the wool gloves to prevent any contamination. "First let's slice it, then I'll mince another, then finally mash the last." Doing it in that order, Ayane first sliced several mushrooms placed it in a clay cup, then added the acid and placed a cap to let it rest. She did the same with the other two groups but minced and mashed each and separately placed each in its own cup.

.

She continued with every ingredient she had, no letting anything go to waste. Then, almost like instinct, she began to hum. She found it soothing and calming to just hum music she heard during her time in middle school. After finishing her first batch of ingredients, Ayane went out and went to collect more ingredients. But it was on this day that Ayane's life would forever change.

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

After going out and collecting the supplies she needed. Ayane looked up towards the night sky and smiled. Then as she began to trek home, she tripped on something that felt as hard as rock.

.

"Ow, what was that?" As Ayane looked, she noticed a large rock, the largest one she had seen. "What's this?" As she placed her hand upon it, she knew exactly what it was. "It's clay. But if it was here, then…" Coming to the sudden realization of what she found, Ayane called out into the night sky. "Is anyone there?! I found what you had made! I'm here! I'm…here!" As Ayane's eyes began to tear up, she rubbed them and picked up the large clay boulder. "I better take this with me."

.

Then, as soon as she returned to camp, Ayane placed her basket down and began to inspect the boulder itself. It was obviously man-made, due to the how rough it looked. Though it could be just due to nature itself, she wasn't sure. Not wanting to stare at it any longer, Ayane picked up a small rock, and began to lightly pound at it. For several hours that is all she did. Then, after one last small tap, the clay cracked and revealed the contents inside.

It showed what looked to be a small round robot with two circular pegs on each of its sides. The top of its circular body had two large black eyes, and a square mouth. It also had four large holes, possibly for maneuvering, and the name: "_REI37_." Broken by this new find, Ayane's hopes for another person to be alive in this new world, went to dust.

.

"This, this wasn't made in this era. No, it was made during the time humanity had all the resources at its disposal." Looking at it more clearly, Ayane began to cry. "It's a robot."

.

Holding the glass container that contained the robot, Ayane began to cry. For the past year, Ayane had tried her best to contain her emotions, and there times when she would want to give up. But for the sake of her own survival, as well as the revival of humans kept her mind away from such thoughts. But now, with what looked to be humanity's last gift, caused her to break down.

After crying her eyes out for 10 minutes straight, Ayane held the glass contain upside down to prevent the glass from shattering the robot. Then as soon as it was out, Ayane held it before her and just huddled with it.

.

"_It's cold. Well that is to be expected. I'm surprised that it had lasted all this time._" Looking up to the night sky, Ayane sniffled as she tried to hold back any more tears from escaping. "_Why me?_" And as quickly looked back towards the pile of clay and back to the sky, something had caught her eye. Placing the robot down, she rummaged through the debris and found…

.

"Paper?" Ayane said to herself. "No, it's a letter."

.

And thus, the letter stated: "_For whoever reads this, please take care of him. He abandoned his mission to find his creator, Byakuya Ishigami. But because he did, he managed to revive me 9 months after the Petrification had passed. In this note you will find all the instructions needed to revive him. And when you do, please…please take him back to Byakuya. For someone like myself, will never be able too. Little girl, I am placing my hopes in you._"

.

Scared beyond compare as to what Ayane read, it was obvious that whoever wrote this, they had intended to give it to her from the start. But seeing as there was more to read, she continued.

.

"_You may find yourself in a new world, and I myself will not know when you will awaken, but I hope it is not too soon. The world I see is desolate and ugly, but perhaps the world you will awaken in will be different. I had made a revival fluid from the knowledge I had when I was awakened, and thus placed it upon you, since you were the first one I found. I am not sure how long it will take for you to be revived, but when you do, you will want his knowledge and assistance. I wish you well, brave one._"

.

As Ayane looked at the back of the paper, she noticed instructions on how to use what she had around her to revive the robot, or in this case, wake him up from his long slumber.

.

"Alright." Ayane, now feeling more vigorous than ever, picked up the robot and rushed out to find the supplies she needed. "Let's do this!"


	4. Chapter 4

_**February 1**__**st**__**, 5737, roughly 2 years later…**_

.

"That was tougher than I thought." Ayane told herself as she looked at the work she had done on _REI37_. "Okay, let's boot this thing up."

.

Turning the machine around, Ayane pressed the button that sat under it, and held it. Then after a few seconds, a startup sound was heard. As the machine shook, Ayane placed it down on the table in front of her and stepped back. As it spun around, it began to roll around then stopped.

.

"Is that it?" Ayane asked before looking back at the paper she had. "Did I do something wrong?" As she turned her back to the table, she was so focused on the paper she did not hear the sound of a silent propeller lifting off. "I don't see anything wrong. Maybe it's just me?"

"I don't believe so." A voice spoke.

"Oh, is that so? Well, that makes me feel a bit better." Now confused as to why she heard a voice, Ayane slowly turned around to see a floating ball hovering right in front of her face. "Whoaa!"

"Greeting, am I to assume that you are the one who woke me up?" REI37 asked as he began to make circles around Ayane from the bottom to the top.

"Rei…right?" Ayane asked.

"That is correct. My name is Rei. I was created by Master Byakuya." Rei responded.

"Master Byakuya? As in Byakuya Ishigami, one of the six astronauts that went into space?!" Ayane asked with glee in her voice. "So, he was smart enough to build his own A.I. on his own?

"No, he didn't build me on his own, he designed me, but nothing more." Rei stepped in on Ayane's speech.

"Is that so? But why do you call him 'Master'?" Ayane asked.

"Because that is who he is." Rei answered never really giving a concrete answer. Now realizing that the machine was on, Ayane quickly asked.

"Say, was there someone alive before me waking up?"

"There was. But he never gave me his name, so I always referred to him as 'Doctor.' It was simple like that." Rei was quick and simple in his answer this time.

"Is that so? Then tell me, do you know the name _Senku_?" Ayane asked in hopes of finally answering the question that has been on her mind.

"I do." Rei answered.

"Then do you know his relations with Byakuya Ishigami?" Ayane continued with her questions.

"I do." Rei answered. "Senku is Master Byakuya's son." After hearing the revelation upon her, Ayane fell to her knees and just looked down at the ground. "Miss are you alright?"

"Do you know what he looks like?" Ayane questioned once more without looking up at the machine.

"I do not. But based on the data I have of Master Byakuya, I may be able to see some resemblance if we are able to find him." Rei answered once more, only to see Ayane rise to her feet. "Miss?"

"Follow me." Was all Ayane said.

.

Following behind his awakener, REI37 noticed how the girl carried herself. Just by looks alone was enough to see that for the amount of time she had been awake she had changed herself for her own survival. As her long black hair swayed from side to side with her movements, Rei was somewhat captivated. Then stopping just before the Cave of Miracles, Ayane turned to face REI37.

.

"Is this Senku? If it's not, then we'll move onto the next one. Then the next, and the next until we find him." Ayane spoke up.

"Let's see." REI37 answered as he began to float and hover around the petrified statue. Scanning every part of the petrified human, Rei had begun to look very serious, then stopped. Turning his attention to Ayane, Rei spoke. "This is Senku. I know because Master always described him in perfect detail. So, when I analyzed the measurements of this statue I am 1 million- no 10 billion percent sure its him."

"Then we can revive him." But just as she got excited, Ayane quickly lost that excitement. "But I still don't know the formula, or if the acid even works."

"Acid?" Rei asked.

"In the Cave of Miracles there is an acid that has the capabilities to un-petrify someone. But I've tried many methods but came up short on how to fully un-petrify someone." Ayane also mentioned her many trial and errors, and how she was stuck in an endless loop.

"I see. But you have cleared that hurdle once before. What was so different from then than what you are doing now?" Rei asked.

"That's the thing I don't know. I thought I had it down, but in the end, I gave up." As Ayane's hopes began to dwindle, Rei spoke up.

"Then, I shall assist you in you!" Rei's proclaimed as he jumped in the air. "Afterall, that is my programing."

.

After getting a giggle from Ayane, the said girl looked towards her new companion and nodded.

.

"Alright!" Ayane yelled. "We have a ton of work ahead of us. Are you sure your prepared?"

"I am. Afterall, I'm programmed to see things you are not." Rei answered nonchalantly.

"Alright then. I'll be sure to count on you." Ayane answered.

.

_**2 Months Later…**_

.

Walking with a jar in hand, Ayane walked slowly to the Cave of Miracles. In her hand she held the final product of the revival fluid, something she was able to complete in no time, with the help from Rei, of course. Completely shaking from head to toe, every step Ayane took felt like she was walking up a very steep mountain, where even one wrong step would result in her falling to her inevitable death.

As she arrived at the Cave of Miracles, Ayane looked at Senku, and began to take very deep breaths. Even when she had tested the final product on the stone birds she found, she was still frightened at the fact that she may wake something she didn't know anything about. Breathing deeply to solidify her resolve, Ayane slowly but surely began dumping the fluid onto the petrified statue.

Now, the waiting game began. As Ayane waited, and waited, and waited. After a few minutes, Ayane began to bite her lower lip in fear. But in that moment, she hear a sound. It sounded so magical she thought it wasn't true. As she looked towards the statue, she began to notice cracks appearing all over the body. Seeing this, Ayane couldn't hold back her excitement, and drooped to her knees and placed her face close to the statue. Then, like a snake shedding its skin, the pieces of the stone began to break apart and fall towards the ground. In a matter of seconds, Senku was released from his stony prison.

.

"Hello?" Ayane asked as she began to close the distance between their faces.

"April 1st, the year 5737, at 10:02 in the morning. You woke me up at a good time, miss." Senku responded as he flashed a big smile. "What you did was 10 billion percent amazing."

.

Hearing someone else's voice for the first time caused Ayane to tear up. Then without thinking she lunged herself at Senku and embraced him tightly.

.

"Hey! Get off!" Senku yelled as he began to try to pry Ayane's grip open.

"It worked. The fluid worked." Ayane began to cry as she spoke. "I spent nearly 3 years trying to find the right formula. I am so glad it worked."

"Hah, whatever." As Senku gave in, he looked up towards the sky as a young beauty wrapped herself around him.

.

_**10 minutes later…**_

.

"I'm sorry about that." Ayane apologized as she backed away from Senku after crying for about 10 minutes straight.

"It's fine. But still I want to know… How long have you been awake?" Senku asked as he rose to his feet, only to see Ayane turn around. "Hmm?" Then looking down, he realized the situation. "Oh. My bad." Senku apologized as he began to pick his ear.

.

After handing him some clothes she had sewn out of boredom, Senku placed them on, to see it be a perfect fit. Astounded by this, he turned and smiled towards the new person in front of him. Smiling back, Ayane rose to her feet and began to direct Senku to her home. As she did, she began to explain what had happened to her over the course of about 4 years. Explaining as detailed and precise as possible, Senku didn't seem to listen, but Ayane continued to talk until they arrived.

.

"That's when I found you and began to create the revival fluid." Ayane finished as the two teens set foot in Ayane's camp.

"So, this revival fluid, what's it made of?" Senku asked, seeming more interested in the fluid than Ayane's struggles.

"That's what you're going to ask, well whatever." Ayane turned around and bent herself downward, so she could look into Senku's eyes. "I'd rather not tell, since you are the science geek, having you in this Stone World is basically like having all the money in the world. You're a valuable, indispensable asset."

"But there are no dangers here, other than mother nature herself." Senku explained.

"But still, if I give you the formula you could end up reviving someone who sees you as an obstacle, and thus tries to get rid of you." Ayane gave a serious look at Senku. "So, whatever you, don't ask me for the formula, unless your willing to lose your life."

"So, if I'm prepared to die, you'll give it?" Senku asked as he brough his face closer and gave a big smirk as he looked with the same kind of conviction Ayane gave him.

.

Ayane nodded in agreement, then spoke up once more.

.

"I won't tell you anything. But that doesn't mean I'm stopping you from doing it yourself. If you wish to make it, then make it. But don't you dare come to me to so that I can save your sorry ass if you wake someone who just spells trouble." Ayane spoke with her eyes closed in disgust. But as she opened them, she noticed a smirk on Senku's face. "What's with that stupid smirk on your face?"

"Oh, nothing." Senku answered as he got up and began rummaging through all of Ayane's provisions. "You do realize you have poison's plants in here right?"

"And don't you realize that they are all separated by species?" Ayane answered. "And here I thought you were 10 billion percent smarted than me?" Ayane said while smirking, with her hand just slightly under her mouth.

"Damn bitch." Senku grumbled under his breath.

"Stupid nerd." Ayane responded back.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

As the sound of calm water began to flow past Ayane's ears, and the muffled sounds of birds chirping in the distance in synchronization with the wind as it blew past her, she herself looked up towards the sky as she floated in the lake. Breathing as calmly as she can, Ayane continued to look up at the sky. Its light blue color looking down on the water below, the thick, white fluffy clouds as they gently floated above her. Such a sight that was never seen before was now before her very eyes. Then closing her eyes, Ayane allowed herself to sink into the lake.

Sinking deeper and deeper as the seconds past, Ayane felt the cold from the water surrounding her, and its weight pressing down on her as she continued to sink. Hearing nothing but the water run past her ears as she sunk, Ayane kept her eyes closed. As the seconds passed, Ayane felt herself 'freefalling' down to the bottom of the lake that she began to think. She didn't think sad thoughts, but began to think about what her future would be like. She began to think about many upon many possible scenarios, but in the end even those thoughts slipped her mind.

After what seemed like minutes, Ayane's back hit the lake bottom. As she opened her eyes, she began to noticed small dust and dirt beginning to ascend, due to her falling so abruptly and disturbing the ground below. As it did, several fish began to swim around and bite at the water to try and grab what they could from the floating debris before it decided to fall back towards the floor. Seeing this, Ayane smiled. This is how life should have been some 3700 years ago, but no. The human race decided to sully the world with their presence. Some part of her wanted the Stone World to continue, but another part of her wanted to bring back the human race, it was an endless battle of fighting against herself, with both parts at a long stalemate.

But her thoughts were interrupted when a stone broke the surface of the water and began to fall towards her. Seeing this, Ayane slowly jumped to her feet, crouched on the floor below her and pushed herself up toward the surface once more. Swimming slowly and steadily, the light of the sun had begun to brighten by the second, until…Ayane slowly made her way out from the waters cold prison. Pushing her hair away from her face, she saw Senku standing there with another stone in hand. Grumbling at seeing him, Ayane lowered herself just a bit, so only her head was seen above the water and began to swim closer to shore.

.

"What do you want?" She asked as she felt her feet touch land once more.

"You're running low on supplies, and instead of going around and looking for it myself, I knew it be 10 billion percent quicker to ask you to grab them." Senku answered as he gave a smirk.

"Fine." Ayane answered. But before she decided to move out of the water, she lifted her right arm, pointed at Senku, and pointed towards a tree in the distance. "Hmph." Was the sound she made as she moved her arm.

.

Listening to the lady, Senku began to walk away, and began staring at the tree Ayane pointed at. After seeing the man himself walk and turn towards the tree, Ayane rose out from the water and began walking to shore. Grabbing a towel she made from leftover wool, Ayane quickly dried her hair as best as she could, before moving to dry the rest of her body.

Hearing the sound of something scrubbing against skin, Senku began to tap his foot, showing that he really didn't know what patience was. Placing his hand on the back of his neck, he began to crack his neck. Seeing this, Ayane ignored it and continued getting dressed. Upon hearing the sound of clothes slipping on, Senku sighed in relief knowing that the girl behind him was finishing up. As he turned around, he noticed Ayane putting her hair up in a ponytail.

.

"Is that really necessary?" Senku asked. "What you're doing is 10 billion percent useless in this era." Seeing his words sink in, caused Ayane to chuckle embarrassingly.

"You're right." The girl answered. "I usually do it out of habit, but then again, my hair was shorter back then." Then, letting go of her hair caused it to fall elegantly down her back. Looking back at Senku, Ayane noticed the science man himself looking away from her. "Is something wrong?" She asked as she began to approach him, and bent forward, giving a clear view to her prominent chest's cleavage that was hidden underneath her loose clothing.

"Nothing's wrong. Now let's get going." Senku commanded as he began to walk away. As he did, Ayane smiled cheerfully as she followed behind the man.

.

_**1 Hour Later…**_

.

Collapsing under the weight of the basket, Senku was struggling to get up, and seeing this Ayane sighed in defeat. Taking the basket from Senku, she placed it down onto the ground and began to pick up what was dropped. Seeing her carry such a heavy basket impressed Senku. As he began to recall his conversation with Ayane after watching her pick up their supplies, and hearing how she had to survive, a question came into his head.

.

"That wolf of yours…where is it?" After stating his question, he noticed Ayane jump. As her body began to tremble, she grit her teeth and continued to focus on the vegetation that was on the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Walking back to camp in silence…**_

.

Ayane placed a great distance between herself and Senku.

.

"_That wolf of yours…where is it?_" That question continued to echo within Ayane's head, and each time it did, she grit her teeth harder than the previous time. As she continued to pick up her pace as she walked, Senku was having a hard time catching up with her. But every time Senku caught up, he looked at Ayane with an expressionless look

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

Holding a block of wood in one hand, and a sharp, thin rock in the other, Ayane proceeded to cut and scratch at the block in a diagonal line. Trying her best to keep a straight line, Ayane began to chip away without even looking away for a single moment. It was obvious to anyone around, that being Senku, that she was merely trying her best to ignore the sour atmosphere around her.

Not liking the situation at all, Senku rose to his feet and walked over to Ayane.

.

"Hey." He stated out loud right next to the girl, who was trying her best to ignore him. "Look, I want to put an agreement into play." Senku spoke with conviction as he said what he wanted to say.

"Agreement? What agreement?" Ayane asked, not once taking her eyes off of what she was doing.

"You tell me something, and I'll tell you something of equal value." Senku proposed.

.

Thinking about it for a moment, Ayane stopped chipping at the block she had in her hand and looked up towards Senku. As she sighed, she seemed to have resigned herself to the deal and placed the block down.

.

"So, what do you want to know?" Ayane asked.

"What happened to the dog of yours?" Once again, Senku saw Ayane jump at the question, but after a few moments, began to speak.

"It was a few days after I found Rei…" Ayane explained, as she began to remember the past.

.

"_As I was more focused on fixing Rei, I never really noticed Hansuke walking out and leaving the camp for a few hour a day, before retuning at nightfall. But as I began to notice his disappearances, I thought it was just his animalistic nature at first, so I never really thought much of it. But after several weeks went by, Hansuke never returned._

.

Worried for his sake, Ayane packed a much as she could in her small travel bag. Placing it on her shoulders, Ayane set off. Walking, searching, then resting. For what felt like days, Ayane continued this routine, always worried that she may forever leave her camp and forget how to return. But in order to find her only family in this Stone World, she continued forward.

.

"_As I set forth onto uncharted territory, I kept my map on me for the entirety of my search. But it didn't take me long to find him._"

.

As three days of searching nearly concluded, Ayane began to hear yapping. A sound she was far too familiar with, that she began to move without thinking. Making it to where the sound was, Ayane climbed a tree that was nearby and noticed Hansuke with about 4 puppies around him. As the pups began to roll and jump on him, Hansuke just sat there looking very bored and defeated. Stifling her laughter, Ayane only looked with enjoyment as the once proud wolf that hunted by her side, was demoted to caretaker.

As the day went on, Ayane followed Hansuke and the pups as they went farther and farther from their "home." Seeing why Hansuke never returned was enough to satisfy Ayane's worries and left.

.

"_Every week, I would go and watch the pack. Making sure I kept my distance, as to not frighten them and not allow Hansuke to lose his position within the pack._"

.

Drinking out of the small clay cup, Ayane noticed how close the she-wolf and Hansuke continued to get. Smiling at the sight she saw, Ayane continued to watch the animal without worry. At least she hoped.

.

As she began to wander farther from where the pack was, Ayane began to look around for some vegetables and other sources of food and water, only to begin hearing a growl behind her. Slowly turning around, Ayane noticed a really scarred wolf beginning its slow approach to her. Backing up a quickly, but as safely as she could, all Ayane could do in that moment, was stare the beast down as it quickly tried to close the distance between the two.

.

_**Back to the present…**_

.

"All I remember from the moment was the smell of blood and the wolf in front of me. I believe its some sort of psychological trauma that's preventing me from remembering any other event other than that." Ayane finished speaking as she looked up towards Senku, who's expression didn't change one bit since she began. "What?" She asked as Senku began bend forward to try and close the distance between their faces.

"Oh, nothing. I was just trying to see something, is all." Senku answered as he bent backwards. "So, let me just try and fill in the gaps. The wolf you killed was a leader of sorts, then after killing it you just ran off, not once returning to see if you wolf, Hansuke, is okay?"

"That's right. If I had stayed, he would've had to make a choice: Either stay with his pack and allow me to be killed; or protect me and lose his own life. So, I made the choice for him and left." Ayane replied as she looked into Senku's eyes, her gaze not once wavering. "Just remembering the event…" But before she even had a chance to finish her sentence, Ayane covered her mouth, got up and ran away.

.

_**At the edge of her camp…**_

.

Ayane began to puke what she had eaten for breakfast. As this continued for 10 seconds, she began to gasp for air each time she threw up. After emptying her stomach, Ayane wiped her mouth, and looked back slightly to see Senku standing behind her looking over her.

.

"So…" Ayane spoke after getting up. "Have anything to share that is of equal value to what you just heard?" Ayane asked.

.

Rubbing his head, Senku sighed as he turned around.

.

"No, I don't." He answered. "You got me. Sorry." Senku apologized as he walked away. As Senku walked away, Ayane looked as she held her hand close to her chest and gripped with a light force.

.

_**April 3**__**rd**__**, 5737…**_

.

"_Senku is making incredible progress in recreating the formula Rei and I have worked on together for nearly 2 months. OH, by the way the reason why I haven't mentioned Rei in a while was because his batter was already low as it was and the solar panels that were added to him roughly 3700 years ago were slightly damaged so, I had to do a bit of tinkering, which led to him shutting down and rebooting his entire system. But he should be waking up in a while. I hope…"_

.

Looking up from her wood slab, Ayane looked at Senku who was hard at work when it came to trying to recreate the revival fluid. Giggling at the sight, Ayane couldn't help but stifle her laughter a bit, but it didn't go unnoticed.

.

"You could help, you know!" Senku exclaimed as he held out another one of Ayane's clay ash crayons.

"I could, but I'd rather not. Because I don't want to be responsible for waking up a person who could, without a doubt, ruin all that I've worked for." Ayane answered as she went back to scribbling on her slab.

.

"_This is my life…for now at least. But…_" Looking up slightly to see Senku still struggling, made Ayane grit her teeth, but didn't show it. "_Why hasn't he noticed? As a genius, he should have noticed. But then again…_" Stopping herself, Ayane placed down the slab down, rose to her feet, grabbed a couple of sewn bags and walked off.

.

"Where are you going?" Senku asked.

"Oh, you're worried for my safety?" Ayane asked condescendingly.

"No, it's just that if you die, then I'd be stuck alone in this Stone World." Senku answered, to which Ayane began to laugh. "That's not a joke."

"I know. That's why I'm laughing." Ayane answered as she managed to grab air in her lungs. "Don't worry I'll be back. I just wanted to grab something for a while, that's all." And with that Ayane left without another word.

.

_**After a minute of silence…**_

.

Senku was scratching his head in frustration as he tried to replicate the revival fluid. Sighing, Senku laid back onto the ground to look up in the sky, only to hear a voice at that exact moment.

.

"Are you struggling, Senku?" The robotic voice spoke. As soon as it did, Senku began to look around, only to see nothing. "In the odd looking stump." The voice responded as Rei saw Senku looking around.

.

Walking towards the odd looking stump that seemed to have been forced into the ground, Senku noticed a white bulge sticking out. Touching it, Rei spoke up.

.

"Hello, Senku. Forgive me for not being able to greet you properly, but in my current condition I may be of no use." Rei greeted Senku, who was not a bit scared.

"So, were you created by my dad? No, designed?" Senku changed his answer quickly.

"Correct." Rei answered, still stuck in the stump.

"By the way, why are you in there?" Senku asked.

"My batteries were damaged, so Miss Ayane had to do some serious modifications. Since she didn't know my design, she couldn't have just opened me. So, she took some precautions and meddled with my internal wires." Rei answered before continuing. "Since meddling with my internal wires, my charging speed had been reduced to 5% a day."

.

After listening to Rei, Senku tapped the white balls head and told him to shut back down. Looking back at the camp, Senku began to realize just how smart Ayane really was. Smiling without restraint, he spoke.

.

"She might make my life 10 billion percent more interesting." Senku said to himself as he continued to work on replicating the revival fluid.

.

_**Several blocks away…**_

.

Walking around, and gathering what looked to be edible, Ayane continued to walk around and saw herself upon a place she didn't see on her large map. Looking upon the scene, large mountains as far as the eye can see. Waterfalls falling down towards the ground, creating rivers that disappear as it goes farther down. As Ayane looked upon the beauty before her, she couldn't help but feel saddened at the fact that this was once her home, reduced to nothing but rubble, and vegetation.

Pulling out her map, Ayane began to unfold the big leather folder to show a large hand drawn map, before grabbing another thin leather piece, and began to draw on it. As the minutes began to go by, Ayane continued to focus on drawing. Being patient is a tool that Ayane learned during her time after being released from her petrified state. To her, being patient is the best tool to use when trying to survive in a different environment that you are not used to.

As the day started to come to an end, Ayane went around and grabbed branches and twigs to start a fire for the cold night. Continuously drawing from memory, even as the sun went down, Ayane was determined to finish before the next day started.

.

_**As the sun began to rise over the mountains…**_

.

Ayane woke up as the sun began to rise over the mountains in the distance. As they did, Ayane began to look through her bag and pulled out what looked to be a thick piece of grass. Blowing into it, the grass created a high pitched ringing sound. Blowing for a few more seconds, Ayane stopped and waited.

.

_**Back at camp…**_

.

As Ayane returned to camp, she smelled something odd. The odd scent smelled of fire, clay and wine. Wondering why it smelled so odd, Ayane rushed forward only to see Senku himself down on the ground, face completely buried in the dirt. Seeing the damage that was around him, caused Ayane to back up a bit.

.

"What happened here?!" Ayane exclaimed as she saw the disaster before her.

"Oh, your back?" Senku slurred his words.

"What…" But Ayane cut herself off when the strong scent of wine hit her nose. "Oh. What did you do?!"

"I realized you had a large jug of wine, so I *hiccup* decided to boil it to try and *hiccup* distill it as best as possible, but as you can see *hiccup* it exploded." Senku said looking a bit drunk in Ayane's eyes.

"Oh, god." Ayane held her head as she shook it in disbelief. "Alright, let's get you into bed. It's best if you slept it off." As Ayane grabbed Senku, she began to smell wine of him. "Did it explode on you too?" But Senku didn't answer as he was fast asleep. "Oh, whatever."

.

Walking up into her hut, Ayane dropped Senku onto the floor, completely exhausted.

.

"_Despite looking skinny, he's still pretty heavy._" Leaving him be, Ayane was about to leave, when she felt something holding onto her foot. Looking back, Ayane noticed Senku holding onto her foot.

"I…" Senku began to whisper something. Unsure of what he was saying, Ayane bent downwards to hear what Senku was saying. "I know…you are…" As Senku spoke in his sleep, Ayane's eyes widened in shock. Backing up, Ayane began to tear up.

"So, you do remember, you big oaf." Ayane spoke as tears began to form and stream down her cheeks, before leaning in and kissing Senku. "_I wouldn't have been able to do this 3700 years ago, but I'm glad I woke up first._"


	6. Chapter 6

_**Sometime prior, during Senku's youth…**_

.

Sitting on a table, doing anything that took his interest, Senku began to hear cheering and yelling coming from a good distance away. As he looked away from what he was doing, he noticed a class of kids about half his age running down towards the park that sat in front of him.

.

"That's dumb. Why waste your time on that, when you can be doing something that's 10 billion percent more interesting and worthwhile." Senku spoke to himself, not really waiting for a response.

"10 billion percent?" Senku was surprised at the fact that someone answered him and curiously looked towards his left. There he noticed a young girl with shoulder length, black hair looked up at him. "Why say something like 10 billion percent? Why not just 100?" The girl asked as she tilted her head just a bit in a curious fashion.

"That's because 10 billion is a bigger number than 100." Senku said while smiling.

"So?" Was all the girl answered as she heard Senku's explanation, which nearly caught him off guard.

"So? Is that all you have to say?" Senku spoke, clearly getting frustrated that this young girl, who looks to be half his age, looking at him like he was the least interesting person in the world. "Okay answer me this. Why are you here?" Senku asked not really looking for an answer.

"I broke my hand, and I didn't want to stay at home, so I came here. It was the only logical answer." The girl answered without changing her tired expression.

"Huh?" Senku responded, not even noticing that the young girl before him just changed the conversation entirely.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked.

"Building a rocket. I want it to go into space." Senku answered.

"Hmm?" The girl replied as she began to look at Senku and his actions.

.

_**1 minute later…**_

.

Continuously asking questions to Senku, as the young boy continued to focus on trying to build his rocket, the young girl kept going from side to side, taking in every moment she saw.

.

_**5 minutes later…**_

.

As the group of kids began to leave, Senku looked up and spoke.

.

"Shouldn't you leave with them?"

"I never came with them. I told you didn't I, I came because I was bored." The young girl answered as she began to draw in the dirt with her free hand. "Besides…" As she turned her attention back towards Senku, the mentioned boy noticed a smirk on the young girl's face. "You're more interesting than anything around me. I like you."

"Jeez, only spent 6 minutes with me and your already in love?" Young Senku answered, not liking his current situation.

"No, I don't think its love. But more like…" The young girl tried to think of the best word to describe the situation, then smiled as she walked up towards the table, sat down and placed her head down on the table before her, while also poking her finger on Senku's right cheek near his mouth. "Admiration." She said sweetly as she began to close her eyes.

"Admiration, huh?" Young Senku was a bit thrown off by the girl before her, showing that he really didn't know how to handle her. "Before you go and sleep, tell me: What's your name?"

"Saki." The young girl known as Saki responded.

"Then, I'm Denki." Senku responded in turn, thinking Saki was not the girl's real name. "You big oaf."

.

_**Waking up from his dream…**_

.

As Senku began to open his eyes very slowly, at the same time he began to grit his teeth. Having a hangover was really something a teen should not have to experience in their lifetime, at all. But here it was, and if it wasn't for being 3700 years into the future, not only would Senku be arrested for drinking as a minor, but the noise of the modern world would probably drive him insane.

Slowly getting up, Senku held his head in pain as he began to make his way towards the door of the hut. But before he ever set foot outside, he heard Ayane's voice speaking to something. Unsure of what that was, mostly being due to his heart beating extremely hard on his chest, Senku just moved forward and peered outside.

What he was able to see before being blinded by the morning sun was a creature of sorts rushing through the tall grass, and Ayane holding her hand out as it ran away. Sighing before turning around, Ayane had a sad look to her eyes, but as she turned and saw Senku, that look turned to complete shock before rushing to get to work. Unsure of what to make of what he just witnessed, Senku began to start his day.

.

_**As Noon began to approach…**_

.

With Ayane off hunting, Senku once again stayed behind as he continued to work on remaking the revival fluid. Stopping for a moment, he began to stretch his right shoulder and crack his neck a bit before feeling someone pull on his collar.

.

"Hey!" He said only to see Ayane looking at him with sadness in her eyes.

"I guess some pieces stayed on, huh?" Ayane spoke for the first time that day.

"I guess so." Senku answered as he shook off Ayane's grip. "Oh, by the way, what was that thing that rushed off this morning."

"Nothing, just the wind." Ayane answered as she slammed two rabbits on the table before Senku. "I guess we're having rabbit for lunch today."

"I guess we are." Senku answered as he looked up to see Ayane, only to come to a revelation. "Hey, quick question."

"Knowing you, it probably will be. Go ahead." Ayane responded as she began to start to a fire.

"Are you…Saki?" Hearing Ayane gripe in pain, Senku looked to see Ayane's right index finger bleeding.

"Come here." Senku ordered as he began to pull on Ayane's arm.

.

_**Several Minutes Later…**_

.

Wrapping Ayane's finger he placed in her mouth a purple pedal plant in her mouth. After a few minutes, Ayane pulled it out and looked at the weird plant.

.

"Where did you find something like this? I'm sure I didn't pick up a plant like this." Ayane spoke.

"It's an opium poppy. It's great for reliving pain." Senku answered. "I found it not far from where the river runs. Also you'll probably feel a bit loopy for a bit."

"Why give me something like this, for only a small cut?" Ayane answered as she placed the pedal back in her mouth, only to feel a sharp pain to her side.

"This is why." Senku answered as he began to grip Ayane's side. "Also, I wanted to interrogate you for a bit." Senku answered as he continued to focus on wrapping Ayane's scraped finger.

"And I'm guessing you wanted to ask if I am Saki?" Ayane asked, to which Senku never responded. "Hey." As Senku looked up to look at Ayane, felt her finger poking his right cheek near him lip. "Is this proof enough, Denki?" Ayane asked. Hearing her say a name he had only said to one other person, caused Senku to grin widely.

"So, it was you, Saki." Smiling widely as well, the two began to giggle. "But why didn't you tell me when you first woke me up?"

"Uh, I only knew you by Denki, not Senku. Also, you changed quite a lot in the 6 years we hadn't met. So, naturally I thought you had forgotten about me." Ayane replied as she turned away in embarrassment.

"How can I forget someone who's 10 billion percent as interesting as you?" Senku asked, which caused Ayane to look at him.

"Hey, what do you mean…" But Ayane cut herself off as she noticed face extremely close to Senku's. Frozen from the sudden moment, the two teens just sat there as the world continued to turn.

.

As the wind blew, and the creatures began to move, both Ayane and Senku just stayed there, not moving an inch. As she tried to utter a single word, Ayane's lips only began to move like a fish. But before she could speak properly, Senku placed his finger on her lips.

.

"We can catch up later, okay?" Senku said as he got up, and placed Ayane's left arm over his shoulder. "Come on, you're probably to dizzy to move."

"Right." Ayane answered as she felt her legs give in. "Whoa!" As the two teens fell towards the ground, Senku was looking down on Ayane with the said girl looking up at Senku with her red, blushing face.

.

But before Senku had a chance to get up, Ayane wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in. As his eyes widened in shock, he felt a warm sensation on his lips. As he looked, he noticed Ayane blushing more profusely as she began to kiss him. But even if her kiss was basic, Senku felt some weight to it.

As the two moved their heads away from each other, they continued to look at each other, before slowly moving away from each other. Getting up to her feet, with the help of a tree, Ayane spoke.

.

"I guess you were right." Her sudden words caught Senku off as he looked back towards the girl. "I guess it wasn't admiration but love instead." Ayane giggled embarrassingly.

"No." Senku answered as he began to slide his index finger across his lips to remember the feeling of Ayane's lips. "At first it was admiration, then it became love." Hearing Senku speak so casually about the word love, caused Ayane to giggle. "What?"

"I thought you were always the type who only saw love as a distraction." Ayane smugly spoke as she began to lean on the tree behind her, only to see Senku point his finger upwards.

"In science, there are always exceptions." Senku responded while smiling widely. "Afterall, laws were made to be broken."

.

After saying his line with confidence, the two began to giggle then burst out laughing as the midday started to close. Walking back, Ayane continued to focus on cooking the meat that was left out, and Senku went back to recreating the revival fluid.

.

_**As the evening began to roll around…**_

.

Chipping away on the block of wood she held in her hand, Ayane began to hum the familiar tune of _Claire De Lune_. Even when her hums cracked and lowered in volume, since Ayane was not great at singing, she still showed passion in finishing her song. Lifting the piece up under the lamp she created which just hung on a branch right above her, Ayane showed a pointed triangular side and continued to do the same with the opposite side of the block.

.

"So, you like classical music?" Senku answered.

"I do. I find it soothing, since it allows me to stop thinking for a bit and see what's around me. Modern music has too much amp in it, that it makes it harder to think. But…" Ayane looked up towards the setting sky as it slowly faded to a dark purple-black hue mix. "I just can't seem to explain it." Ayane answered with a sweet, tired smile. To which eventually she yawned.

"Go get some rest." Senku answered.

"You're not going to join me?" Ayane teased.

"Not on your life. I may have made an exception, but that doesn't mean I'm doing anything stupid at my young age." Senku spoke back.

"Whatever. Good night." Ayane got up from where she was sitting and walked up to the hut. "Don't work to hard." Was the last thing Ayane said before entering in.

"I won't." Senku replied, not expecting a reply back. As soon as Ayane was gone, Senku spoke to himself. "I wouldn't dare leave someone as interesting as you all alone." As Senku closed his eyes, he smiled before getting back to work.

.

_**April 5**__**th**__**, 5737…**_

.

"_My life with Senku is slow. I don't mind it being slow, but… __Senku continues to try and recreate the formula that I worked on for nearly 2 years since my awakening. And with each passing day, I fear he has grown closer and closer. Even though I told him that any mistake he makes is his problem, I can't help but feel responsible as well._"

.

Ayane stopped writing for a moment and looked up towards the Spring sky. The lukewarm air flowing past Ayane's now fully washed hair.

.

"_I managed to grab what Senku needed, especially for a quick and ready soap. Luckily, thanks to his knowledge, I also managed to create a sort of hair conditioner to keep my hair in check. Don't know if it will be useful, but if you find it along with this journal of sorts, then go for it. Use it to your hearts contents, or at least until it runs out._"

.

"Hey, Ayane." Senku spoke as he walked up with a small jar in hand. "What's this?"

"Oh, that." Ayane answered as she looked up towards Senku. "That is the finished product. The revival formula." Hearing the girl before him state something he wasn't expecting, Senku went ballistics.

"Then why the hell didn't you tell me?!" Senku began to berate Ayane, only for her to stop him by placing her finger on top of his lips.

"You talk to much." Ayane spoke as she began to back up.

"Don't think doing something like that will stop me from…" Then before Senku realized it, Ayane was out of his sight.

"Go ahead and revive someone you know. I'll be right back. We've been running low on supplies, so I'll be back in a few days. See ya!" Ayane said her goodbyes as she rushed off without another word.

"You better stay alive so you can tell me how you did this, you hear!" Senku yelled back as he saw Ayane rush off. "That girl." Senku said as he began smile. "She just does whatever she wants." Then coming to some sort of realization, he smiled embarrassingly. "No, in fact, she always did what she wanted."

.

_**Back during their youth…**_

.

Ayane, under the name Saki, always made it a habit of visiting the park as often as she could. Mostly to annoy young Senku, under the name Denki, with many upon many questions.

.

"Denki!" Ayane asked. "What does this do?" Ayane held up what looked to be pen-like tool.

"That is for soldering wires together." Senku answered as he began to focus on placing a few pieces of a rocket together.

"Denki!" Ayane yelled as she began to run around. "Look at what I can do!" She yelled as she began to walk on her hands.

"Oh, that's amazing." Senku's response was boring and not exactly what Ayane was looking for.

"Denki!" Ayane yelled again as she began to approach him. "Why are you building a rocket?" She asked.

"Because I want to be the youngest child on the planet to send a rocket into space." Senku answered still focused on the rocket.

"Why?" Ayane asked.

"Because humanity strives to reach the stars." Senku answered.

.

_**As evening began to approach…**_

.

The sky began to darken, and both Ayane and Senku began to walk away from the park. Looking up to the sky, Ayane pulled on Senku's sleeve.

.

"Denki?" Ayane spoke, to which Senku sighed in defeat.

"What is it, Saki?" Senku reluctantly answered.

"What is that constellation called again?" Ayane pointed towards the constellation that was higher than any of the other constellations.

"Oh, that. That's the Ursa Minor." Senku answered. "That is what astronomers use to locate true north. See?" Senku pointed towards the last star on the constellation. "That is the Alpha UMi, otherwise known as Polaris, the North Star."

"What about the others?" Ayane asked, then Senku began to point out the other stars in numerical order.

"So, just remember this: If you are ever lost, always rely on Ursa Minor, or its companion the Ursa Major." Senku pointed just where Polaris was and went down to show the major of the constellation right under it. "There." As he looked down towards the young girl besides him, he noticed her eyes widen with curiosity as she began to take in what she saw. "That's all the lesson I'm giving you."

"Okay." Ayane answered as she began to run in the opposite direction of Senku. Then before she was out of earshot, Ayane yelled back. "Denki!" Senku turned around to see the small girl looking at him. "If we ever meet again, can I become your assistant, and help you get to space?!"

"You have to be 10 billion percent smarter than me if you wish to become my assistant, alright?! So, be sure to get the highest scores in your class, otherwise you can forget about it!" After saying what he wanted, he saw Ayane waving frivolously before turning around and running away from Senku's sight.

.

_**Present Time…**_

.

As he was lost in thought, Senku looked up to see that he had no idea where he was. Looking around with nothing but confusion on his mind, he noticed a large tree in the middle of a clearing and saw someone he recognized. Smiling grandly, he rushed up to get a closer look.

.

"Well, would you look at that. Even you survived, Yuzuriha." Senku spoke. "Then if you're here, then that means that big oaf is not that far behind." Senku answered as he looked into the distance, then back at the jar he held in his hands. "Not sure how long it takes for the fluid to kick in, so I guess I'll leave a little note for that big oaf." Climbing the tree, Senku began to scratch into it as he began to write. "There, now let's head back. I walked for to long." Senku spoke as he noticed the sun beginning to set. "I guess I'll do it tomorrow."

.

_**As Ayane walked alone in the dead of night…**_

.

She sat atop a cliff that looked out towards the untainted paradise. Smiling as the Moon's light reflected calmly on the water's surface below, she once again began humming the _Claire de Lune_ for a few minutes before pulling out a leaf and blowing into it. To which it caused a high pitched ring. Less than 5 minutes later, she began to hear a rustle behind her. Looking she smiled at the creature that responded to her call.

.

"Hello there, Hansuke." Ayane spoke sweetly as the wolf-dog, Hansuke, who now looked to be a bit more built than the last time she saw him, walk up and began to rub his head against her. "I know, I missed you too. But not yet." Ayane spoke as she pulled out what looked to be a few strands of hair. "You can trust this person, don't you ever forget this scent, you hear?" Ayane pleaded as Hansuke began to sniff the strands of hair. "Don't you ever forget. Because I feel like something bad is about to happen." Ayane spoke under her breath, while bitting down on her lip.

.


	7. Chapter 7

_**June 6**__**th**__**, 5737, trying their best to stay in the shade…**_

.

"_Okay, I take back what I said. The days aren't slow, their deliberately slowing down to kill us._"

.

As Ayane looked up in pain as she began to sweat. All the while, Senku was walking around fanning himself with his shirt. The sweat and steam that permeate off of them was in a sense 'visible' to the naked eye.

.

"_The days I dreaded the most have finally shown up. The season known as summer has finally made its appearance. Normally, in the modern age days we could just lay back and stay inside our air conditioned house, but in this Stone World, we have no choice but to adapt to the sudden change in heat and weather._"

.

"Senku!" Ayane pleaded. "Your assistant is dying here."

"I…know." Senku spoke as he swallowed, trying his best to keep his saliva from creeping out of his mouth. "This heat makes it difficult to move around. I'm glad I didn't wake up Taiju or Yuzuriha. The both of them wouldn't have been able to handle this type of weather, especially the big oaf."

"I…thought I was the big oaf." Ayane replied as she looked his way before looking back at her hands to see them covered in a black smudge. "Eww."

"You were, but after I met Taiju, you just became Saki." Senku answered Ayane. "Let's go to the lake." Without answering, Ayane rose to her feet and followed Senku.

.

_**Slowly making their way towards the lake…**_

.

A journey that should have taken no less than half an hour, ended up taking an hour due to the teens fatigue from the heat. Without wasting any time, both Ayane and Senku stripped into readymade underwear and jumped into the lake.

Emerging from the cold, fresh pond the two teens were rejuvenated. Floating atop the water, with the Sun's rays barely breaking through the trees' shade, and the water's cool liquid at her back felt like paradise to Ayane.

.

"This is bliss." Ayane praised as she began to swim around.

"Yeah." Senku answered as he began to rustle his hair, before looking at the swimming teen. "Say." As Senku spoke, Ayane stopped her swimming and stood up, making sure she stayed afloat as she began to listen to the boy before her. "What made you want to become my assistant?" Thinking for a while, Ayane began to swim her way back to Senku.

"Because I thought: My life probably wouldn't be so boring if I spent it with him." Ayane answered as she began to close the distance. "Does that answer suit your question?"

"Yes it does. 10 billion percent." But as Senku spoke, the bushes behind them rustled, startling the two.

.

Without warning, Ayane grabbed Senku and pushed him underwater, causing the water surface to break. Struggling to get Ayane off his shoulder's, Senku struggled to free himself only to see Ayane's eyes plead for him to stop.

As he stopped his struggling, Senku noticed Ayane's grip on him loosen as she slowly surfaced. Following her lead, Senku kept his head low under the surface but high enough that he was slightly able to breathe through his nose. And what he saw startled him.

There stood a proud lion. As it stood in their line of sight, Senku noticed a scar over its right eye. Then, as it began to look around, the two teens slowly went back under, ensuring that they didn't break the water surface. Then slowly but surely, they began to swim as far deep as they could before Ayane pointed in a direction for Senku to follow. But due to Senku's weak stamina, he was unable to keep his breath for long.

Out of desperation, Ayane placed her lips on Senku and began to breath into his mouth, and Senku did the same. Ensuring that he could go on, Ayane grabbed Senku's shoulder and began to swim away, with Senku assisting as best as he could.

Thinking they were safe, the two surfaced once more. As they did, they instantly gasped for air, and held onto the small ledge that was to the side of them. Breathing heavily, Senku looked towards Ayane to see her trying her best to keep her breathing in check. Then lifting herself up, she looked around to see nothing in sight. But to be perfectly safe, Ayane grabbed the closest thing to her, and tossed it to see if something reacted to it. Nothing did.

Motioning with her head to show that it was clear, both Ayane and Senku rose up from the lake and slowly made their way back to camp.

.

_**Rustling through a wooden box…**_

.

Ayane pulled out several other clothes and tossed Senku a similar looking clothing that he had previously worn. Placing them on, Ayane and Senku looked at each other, and chuckled embarrassingly. Waiting for a few minutes longer, both teens waited within the shadows of their location before setting off once more. During their wait, Senku spoke.

.

"How did you know it was a lion?" Senku asked, clearly curious on how quickly Ayane reacted.

"When you spend a ton of time in the wild, you tend to see a ton of wild things." Ayane answered. "Also, I sort of pissed that lion off." Ayane began to rub her head in embarrassment.

"How did you piss off a lion? The king of the jungle?" Senku asked now curious as to how a girl like Ayane managed to anger an animal like that.

"How do you think I got us clothes?" Hearing those words come out of Ayane's mouth was enough to scare Senku. Seeing the boy's shocked face, Ayane began to speak once again. "It was roughly around half a year after I woke up." Ayane began to try and remember the events of that day.

.

"_Still scared and worried about where I was, and since Hansuke was still a pup I couldn't rely on him that much until he became an adult. So, for the most part of my time, I just went out and grabbed anything nearby, only when there wasn't anything nearby, did I go out further. That day was one of those days._"

.

Placing a large basket on her back, and ensuring that Hansuke was tied to the rope, Ayane set off. Hearing the pup whimpering as Ayane left his sight, she smiled embarrassingly and left the comfort of her home.

Upon seeing that there was nothing nearby, Ayane set out further. After several minutes of walking and looking around, the young girl heard a snap behind her. Slowly turning around out of fear, Ayane noticed a lioness, just there staring at her. Completely struck with fear, Ayane just stood there, not once moving an inch.

As she began to hear the low growling of the lioness, with her body still shaking, Ayane tried her best to look around to see if she could use anything as weapon to defend herself. Then almost as if it was timed, a roar was heard. Hearing that, the lioness looked back. Seeing this as an opportunity, Ayane booked it, catching the lioness off guard and forced it to pursue her.

.

"_At the time, I didn't really think about it, I just ran. I ran as fast as my legs could take me. I didn't bother with the scratches or the pain I felt when I ran into many obstacles during my escape. I just ran._"

.

Feeling herself get exhausted, Ayane continued to run as fast as she could. But as she heard the sound of large paws slapping the ground beneath them, Ayane turned her head back to see the lioness right behind her.

Out of desperation, Ayane slightly turned to her left, which caused the lioness to just miss Ayane and slide in front of her. But in her short spin, Ayane noticed a pack of lion's following the same path she just took. Thinking as quickly as she could, in the corner of her eye, she noticed a cliff. She didn't care how deep down it was, or for the fact that it could've been just a few feet deep, Ayane ran towards the cliff, and the lioness.

.

"_Out of desperation, and pretty much running on adrenaline, I lunged myself at the lioness. Since it was still moving, it made it easier to push it off the cliff, along with me._"

.

As both the lioness and Ayane looked down what looked to be a 15 foot drop, by the laws of physics, both of them began to fall at an incredible speed, gripping onto the lioness fur as hard as she could, Ayane crouched her body in the small area she had, as the lioness tried to fight against Ayane's grip.

Then in a matter of seconds, a splat was heard and Ayane was thrown into the air and rolled off the lioness body.

.

"_I don't really remember how long I was unconscious for, but when I woke up, the sun was already on my right. The only things I could think about was the large amount of pain I felt on side, and where the other lions were. As I began to look around, I noticed my broken basket, as well as the lioness, just lying there. I tried to move, but ultimately I couldn't._"

.

Coughing from her sudden intake of air, Ayane tried to roll over to her side, but couldn't due to the sharp pain that followed. As her breathing began to break every time she moved, Ayane pushed herself up, and began to cry out in pain.

Finally being able to get up, Ayane ripped her shirt and began to tightly wrap it around her waist. Since she didn't know the severity of the damage, she didn't want to take any more risks of damaging it. As she cried every time she wrapped her shirt around, Ayane's breathing became harder, and as her whole world began to turn due to her exhaling a lot more than inhaling, the young girl felt her vision and body weaken.

But she knew that if she gave up there it would be the end of her life as she knew it. In this world, and for the past six months since she had been awake, she knew she had to do things on her own. With nothing but conviction and survival on her mind, Ayane, slowly but surely dragged herself towards the lioness to see if it was still alive. Not really surprised, she realized that the lioness was not breathing.

Staying by its side for a full half minute, Ayane began to shuffle around her to see if she could use anything as a makeshift knife. Then as she slid her arm past her waist, she felt something sharp. Pulling it out, Ayane realized she had brought a sharp edged stone. Chuckling, Ayane closed her eyes and held onto the stone tightly. Then looking forward, she gulped and began to sink the stone inwards.

.

_**Several minutes later…**_

.

Puking after finally being able to tear open the lioness stomach, Ayane looked away in disgust as she realized there still more work to do. As she continued to cut away as best as she could, the stench of dry blood continued to infiltrate her nose, causing her to gag uncontrollably. But after a few hours, she finished removing the entirety of the fur off the lioness.

.

"_As I finished removing the lioness' fur, I felt completely exhausted and was in an immense amount of pain. I tried to calm myself down but wasn't able to due to the head of the pack approaching me._"

.

Hearing a low growl, Ayane looked over towards her right to see the lion approaching her. Ayane once again froze, she froze due to exhaustion, and froze due to the pain she felt at her side. And since she didn't have a weapon to protect her, Ayane began to panic. Trying her best to move back to keep some distance between her and the male lion, Ayane continued to scoot herself away from the predator.

But her actions seem futile as the lion continued its approach. As it stopped just before its female, it rubbed its head against the deceased lioness' before returning its attention towards Ayane.

Picking up the pace, the lion opened its mouth and roared before rushing forward. In a panic, Ayane grabbed whatever was near and threw it with all the strength she could muster. Then like fate had rained down upon the young girl, blood began to emerge from the lion's right eye, as a large sharp edged rock was tossed towards it. Roaring in pain, the lion turned around and began to scratch at the wound.

Seeing how it was distracted, Ayane got up and waddled past the lion. Grabbing the fur she had finished removing from the lioness body, she placed it upon her shoulder and rushed off.

.

_**Present time…**_

.

"So, in the end the lion never continued its pursuit due to it being injured. And I occasionally ran into it in the past. Didn't see it for a while, until today." Ayane finished as she rolled up her legs towards her chest and wrapped her arms around. "Ever since then, I've been able to kill without remorse. But that's just human nature."

.

Through the whole conversation, Senku had remained silent. Usually he'd be able to make some snarky comeback, but this time, there was no way he'd be able too. Not without harming her feelings.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

Waking up in a pool of sweat, Senku looked up towards the ceiling of the little hut called home and began to breath heavily. Even though the air flow was good, the heat was still unbearable. As he looked over to the bed, Senku noticed Ayane still very much asleep. Despite sweating as much as him, she seemed comfortable with the situation.

Getting up and out of the hut, Senku walked out towards the opened air and feeling a gust of warm wind was, in and of itself, better than sitting in an enclosed space. Even though the sun hadn't risen, Senku began to start his day.


	8. Chapter 8

_**As the Sun rose over the horizon…**_

.

Senku continued to work without end. Trial after trial, he continued to work without missing a beat. As the seconds turned to minutes, and the minutes to hours, Senku never realized that the Sun had already risen and Ayane was nowhere to be seen. Worried about his assistant, Senku stopped what he was doing and walked back up towards the hut only to see Ayane collapsed on the floor.

.

"Hey!" He exclaimed as he rushed forward only to feel what was wrong. "You're burning up!" Then without warning, he stripped Ayane down to her underwear in hopes of release some unnecessary body heat.

"Oh…Senku." Ayane spoke slowly and heavily as she opened her eyes. "I'll get up right now, just give me a minute."

"You don't have a minute! You're burning up big time!" As Senku began to look around, he began to noticed some scars looking rather infected. "_Oh, I get it._" Senku thought to himself.

.

Remembering what Ayane told him, the said girl only had to take care of herself, which allowed her to restrict her time outside the comfort of her now home. But now, due to him waking up, she's had to work enough for two people, which probably caused her to gain more scratches and forced her to be more exposed to her surroundings.

.

"Looks like I really don't have a choice." Senku spoke as he rose to his feet. "I'm going to have to wake those two up."

"Who?" Ayane asked, out of breath.

"Who else? Taiju and Yuzuriha." Senku answered.

.

_**Several Minutes later…**_

.

Not even having to explain the situation, after being awakened Taiju went straight to work, with Yuzuriha taking Ayane to bathe her.

.

"Oh." Yuzuriha said. as she began to bathe a weakened Ayane. "So, you were the first to wake up? Must have been rough."

"Yeah." Ayane answered half-heartedly as she had pretty much no energy and was trying her absolute best not to pass out. "I was the first to wake…up…" But just before Ayane fell forward Yuzuriha caught her.

"I got you. But you have to stay up. We're almost done here." She answered.

"Easier said than done." Ayane replied. "Did you know that the body tends to weaken dramatically, so that it can rest?"

"I know a little thanks to Senku." Yuzuriha explained as Ayane finished. "And if your this tired, also burning up this much, it must mean it's a strong one. But luckily, thanks to Senku, we have soap, so we can wash away any chance of anyone else grabbing what you have. And also wash away some of the infected skin."

"Mm." Ayane nodded in response.

.

_**Returning to camp…**_

.

With Yuzuriha leading a weakened Ayane, they began their slow approach towards the camp. During that time, the two young girls began to talk.

.

"I see. So, you woke up Senku. And in turn, Senku woke us up." Yuzuriha repeated what she heard.

"I only woke him up because I was sick once before. But…" Ayane took a deep breath before finishing. "It wasn't as bad as this. At least I had the cold to cool me down, but the heat from summer makes it harder."

"Don't worry." Yuzuriha replied. "I'll be making clothes that are thinner than the ones you were wearing. Afterall, in high school I was in the Sewing Club."

"High school, huh? I wonder if I'll ever be able experience something like that?" Ayane asked herself.

"I'm sure once Senku brings back humanity, you'll be able to experience it." Yuzuriha answered, in hopes of keeping the 17 year old happy.

"I'm sure he will." Ayane replied with a giggle. "Can I tell you something that was a bit embarrassing for me to have Senku remember?"

"Sure, after all we are walking at a slow pace." Yuzuriha agreed to hear her ally out.

"It was the last time I ever saw Senku. He taught me how to count, and I used that counting when I was petrified." Ayane began to reminisce in her favored past.

.

_**As she began to remember…**_

.

"Listen, say you got lost in the woods and your phone is about to die. What do you do?" Young Senku asked as he began to screw in a bolt onto his rocket.

"Hmm?" As Ayane began to think, she came up with her answer quickly. "Isn't the most logical thing to do is call help with the remainder of your battery?" Not really confident with her answer, Ayane looked towards her mentor for the answer.

"That is one, but another would be to look at the time." Senku answered.

"The time?" Ayane was confused by Senku's answer.

"That's right. The time, because if you remember that you'd be able to plan far more efficiently." Senku added. "Listen, say the time was 2:34 pm, how much time would you have to send a signal that you are lost?"

"A couple of hours?" Ayane answered.

"That's right. If you use a smoke signal, you'd only have a few hours. Use a torch you'd have only the night to use such a signal." Senku began to lay down how important time was. "Also, you can use time to determine how far you traveled. Say you continued walking without ever stopping, how much time would've past during your travel?"

"Don't know." Ayane replied honestly.

"Exactly." Senku answered. "You wouldn't know. Just because you look at the Sun, doesn't mean you'll instantly know how much time has passed. You have to count as soon as your phone dies."

"So, whatever time my phone left off on, I have to continue from there, and then plan accordingly, otherwise I stand no chance at surviving." Then pulling out her phone, Ayane began to pull up the clock and began to look at the time. "This…is harder than it looks." Ayane chuckled embarrassingly.

"Continue practicing and in due time you'll be counting without realizing it." Senku tried his best to give a motivating speech but was unsure if his words ever reached his new assistant.

"Alright, from this point forth, I'll count and think and…plan…from now…on… this is going to be difficult, huh?" Ayane's eyes began to beg for help.

"If you want to be my assistant, then doing something like this, should be child's play." Senku grinned sadistically as his young assistant.

.

_**Back to the Present…**_

.

As the two women began to approach on their base of operations, Ayane began to finish her story.

.

"And after that, I began to practice so hard that I plan for every possible scenario without even thinking. It's even helped me get out of a few life-or-death situations." Ayane finished.

"Senku…I had no idea he was like that…No, that's a lie…I'm sorry you had to go through that." Yuzuriha didn't know what to say, so she just apologized.

"It's fine. Like I said, it was because of him that I managed to plan very meticulously, and smartly might I add." Ayane repeated her previous statement.

.

As their base came into view, making the last trek, both Ayane and Yuzuriha walking into the comfort of their home. Placing down Ayane in the shade, just to keep her cool from the Sun's harsh rays, Yuzuriha herself went straight to work on creating new clothes for everyone.

With nothing much to do, due to her sudden predicament, Ayane slowly scooted herself towards a basket and pulled out the block she had been working on, along with a sharp stone. Scooting back towards the shade, Ayane began to shave away at the block with pointed edges with the sharp stone without missing a beat.

There was reason behind why she was doing this. But Ayane didn't feel the need to discus what she was doing just yet. Seeing her hands moving from behind the giant tree, Senku approached casually. Then once he was in earshot, Ayane spoke up.

.

"Is there something you need, Senku?" Ayane asked, not once taking her eyes off the block in her hands.

"Yeah. What is that for?" Senku asked, noticing how Ayane continued to work on something he saw as pointless.

"Well, I was just thinking, since Rei's body seemed so beaten up, I thought about making him a new one. You know, when we finally have all the materials and create all we need in order to create the technology we once had." Ayane answered.

.

Sitting next to the raven haired girl, Senku continued to watch her. Then looking up, Ayane smiled.

.

"Is something wrong?" Ayane asked, curious about Senku's new attitude.

"It's just, your sick and yet you don't show it." Senku answered. Then seeing his assistant place the block down, she smiled embarrassingly.

"I hate looking weak, so I try to force myself to work. But I'm actually a relatively healthy girl, so probably by tomorrow I'll be all better." Ayane replied, still smiling embarrassingly.

"Alright." Was all Senku said as he continued to watch Ayane strip the block she had in hand.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

Waking up, Senku looked over to his right only to see…

.

"Hey, Taiju…" Senku spoke in a whisper, hoping it was enough for the big oaf to hear him.

"What is it, Senku?" Taiju answered, still half asleep.

"Where's Ayane?" Senku asked as his eyes were still on Ayane's bed.

"Hmm? Oh, Ayane. She said she was going out for a bit. Said something about seeing a peeper." Taiju answered.

"And you didn't stop her?" Senku asked, still looking towards her bed.

"OH, she also said she needed to take care of them as well, and strip them of their clothes." Taiju just continued adding fuel to the fire, until all the words Taiju spoke finally clicked.

"Oh." Then scrambling up to his feet, Senku rushed out while calling out to Taiju. "Hey, big oaf! Hurry up!"

"Oh, right." Not really knowing how dire the situation, Taiju began to follow Senku. "Hey, Senku. What's going on?!" Taiju asked.

"Ayane, she's probably still sick, and she said she was taking care of a peeper, and she said she was going strip them of their clothes. There's only one logical thing that could mean." Senku was tired as he began to run out of breath. "She…she is going…to kill the lion…" Senku said through gasps and wheezes. "Go on and find her…I'll…I'll catch up."

"Oh, right…" But before he ran off, Taiju looked back. "Do you know where she'd be?"

"Nope." But like it was timed, the girl they were looking for just walked up with something being dragged right behind her.

"Oh, Senku, Taiju. You're up." Ayane spoke, covering in thick blood. "Told you, I'd be better by the next day, didn't I?"

"Ayane…who's behind…" But before Senku could finish speaking, another person behind Ayane looked at the two boys. "Yuzuriha."

"Senku…Ayane's just as scary as you." Yuzuriha was trying her best to keep her cool, but it was futile as she continued to shake.

"Sorry, I really am, but at least I had the necessary tools to finish the job quickly." Ayane began to apologize to the shaking Yuzuriha.

"What do you mean?" Senku asked.

"Oh, I used Yuzuriha as bait, and then used a stone knife to finish the job." Ayane said casually as she looked back. "Look."

.

As the two men looked behind her, they noticed the lion's body being dragged and a huge gash across its neck.

.

"It was actually a lot harder than it seemed. Should've accounted for that." Ayane answered as she held her right side.

"So, this was the peeper you spoke about?" Senku answered after Ayane finished speaking.

"Yup. It was getting annoying." Ayane replied as she eyed the dead lion's body. Then getting a chuckle from Senku, the entire group looked towards him.

"I guess you were right, Ayane." Both Taiju and Yuzuriha looked at Senku in confusion. "Being with you, is making my life 10 billion percent more interesting by the day."


	9. Chapter 9

_**2 years later…**_

.

"Congratulations!" Ayane cheered as she looked at both Taiju and Yuzuriha, hand in hand with each other.

"You finally did it, you big oaf." Senku answered from behind Ayane as he approached the two teens. "After 3700 years, you finally got the chance to tell her." Then Senku walked away. "Ayane, let's leave. This moment is for them."

"Oh, right." Ayane replied as she walked up to the two teen couple. "Enjoy your time." Ayane winked with joy as she rushed after Senku, leaving the couple behind.

.

Even with time moving slowly, the days began to speed up once more for young Ayane. But even with everything that has happened to her, the young girl decided to return to the spot from where it all started.

.

"So, this is the spot?" Senku asked as he noticed a trial of stone leading towards both him and Ayane.

"Yup. I believe so?" Ayane wasn't confident with her response, mostly due to the fact that the only thing on her mind was survival and not the stone that surrounded her. "All I remember is that I was able to see the Ursa Major from a certain gap in the treetops."

.

Looking up, Ayane began to use her memory as best as she could in order to answer the question that has pegged her mind since her awakening: _Who woke me up?_

For her, there was no reason to wake someone like her up, "_It would've been more beneficial to wake up someone like Senku_." These were just some of the thought that always plagued her mind since her awakening and these question pegged her mind once more when she de-petrified Senku.

Gathering the piece that laid on the ground in a perfect line, the two scientist began to retrace the steps Ayane took when she first woke up. Then remembering everything around her, Ayane bolted off, leaving Senku to chase her.

.

"Did you remember something?!" Senku yelled.

"It's this way!" Ayane yelled back as she began to climb what looked to be a very steep hill.

.

After an hour of climbing, due to Senku giving up a quarter of the way, and having Ayane carry him to the top, the two reached the spot where Ayane first woke up.

And there before her, was a tree that sat by its lonesome self with other trees surrounding it with their mighty height.

.

"This is the tree I held onto when I saw that light." Ayane answered trying her best to hold back her tears.

"Then, why were there pieced down there?" Senku asked, to which Ayane also curiously began to question where she actually woke up.

"Could it be that…" Then almost as if coming to the same conclusion, the two scientist look at each other.

"Someone moved me/you?" Senku and Ayane spoke at the same time.

"Then is there someone who is awake?" Senku began to think of several different possibilities, but each possibility always ended up creating more questions. Finally realizing what each question meant, Senku turned to the young raven haired girl. "Ayane, are you hiding something from me?" Seeing Ayane jump slightly was enough of an answer for Senku. "You are, aren't you?"

.

Ayane remained silent for several seconds before breathing in deeply and exhaling roughly. As she turned her attention to Senku, the young girl stared with eyes Senku was not used to seeing.

.

"Remember when you told me that I have to always think for every situation I'm in?" Ayane forced Senku to recall a past he had never forgotten. "Well, because of that I've always been able to predict certain outcomes. One such outcome was when I met a certain high schooler."

.

Remembering the past, forced Ayane to hold her arms and shiver a bit. After shivering for another several seconds, she looked toward her head scientist.

.

"Ever since I met a certain man and looked him up, I've been terrified of him, but at the same time I've been thinking of many things, but sadly the answer I was searching for never came until after I saw that light." Ayane confessed about the actions she took. "And when I woke up in this world, a new and bizarre world that looked nothing like the world I was used to, my answer was even clearer." Approaching Senku, she placed her hands on his shoulder and pleaded. "Please just give up creating my revival fluid! I'll continue to make until you find a different way creating it! This is all I ask!"

.

Seeing the girl before him beg so hard left Senku speechless. He knows her to be a cunning strategist and has known her better than he ever did in the modern world but seeing her like this caused him to freeze.

.

"Alright." Senku replied to Ayane's pleas as he turned his eyes in another direction. "Burt I'm going to need more of an explanation later on, alright?" Senku placed his hand on Ayane's head to comfort her.

"Alright. When that day comes, I'll be sure to explain everything." Ayane answered as she embraced Senku tightly.

.

Ayane held onto the days that came after close to her chest, for each passing day was different then the last, but Ayane was happier as Senku stopped his attempts at recreating the revival fluid. But the happy days the four teens had would come crashing down only two months later.

.

_**2 months later…**_

.

"Well I'll be off." Ayane spoke to her group as she rushed off with a large basket on her back. "I should be back by nightfall." Ayane added.

"Alright." Senku responded as waved his hand without looking back.

.

Ayane left without another word as she disappeared behind the tall grass. Seeing how Senku was treating Ayane, Yuzuriha spoke up.

.

"Senku?" Yuzuriha questioned to the young scientist. "Why are you acting cold towards Ayane?"

"So you've noticed?" Senku replied as he left his back face toward Yuzuriha. "I'm only treating her coldly because she has something planned. I need to figure out what that is."

"You're saying that like she's a villain?" Yuzuriha was thoroughly confused as she looked towards her friend.

"Yeah. A villain that I created." Senku answered as he put whatever he had in his hand down on the makeshift table.

"A villain that you created?" Yuzuriha repeated before realizing something. "Where's Taiju?"

"Hmm?" Now also realizing that the big oaf hadn't returned for some time, Senku was concerned. "I'll be back. The big oaf probably got in over his head."

"I'm coming too." Yuzuriha replied as she rose to her feet. "He is my boyfriend after all."

"In this Stone World, he's actually your husband, you know." This was enough to make the calm Yuzuriha turn beet red. "Come on, or I'll leave you behind." Rushing behind Senku, the leek colored hair teen grabbed a bottle of the ready revival formula created by Ayane and walked on ahead to find his friend.

.

_**As Senku and Yuzuriha find Taiju, the said boy…**_

.

Was wondering around, trying to figure out how he got lost when the path he usually takes was simple, easy and straight-forward.

.

"Well…Now I've done it." Taiju spoke to himself as he looked around the forest in front of him. "I can't believe I got lost after…after…how many years has it been?" Taiju began to count his fingers. "Oh, right! Two years!" He spoke excitedly. "But now…where to go?"

.

As he decided to walk the path in front of him, he walked calmly and without rush. As he did, he looked around the new, possibly unexplored, parts of the forest. And there he noticed someone he recognized easily.

.

"Wait…is that?" Taiju walked closer to the man that sat down with a tree at his back and his long, messy hair hanging in front of his face. "I guess even you were caught by the light, huh?" Taiju questioned the stone man that sat in front of him. "Well, don't worry, once Senku figures out a different way of creating the revival formula, we'll free you from that stone prison." Taiju spoke with confidence as he turned around and began walk away from the stone man.

.

Taiju continued walking for a good 5 minutes, only to then run into Senku and Yuzuriha.

.

"Oh, it you two. What are you doing out here?" Taiju asked as he approached a worried Yuzuriha.

"Looking for you, dummy." Yuzuriha replied as she rubbed the tears that rubbed her eyes to prevent the tears from streaming.

"Sorry about that. I got lost for a while." Taiju answered.

"How can you get lost, big oaf?" Senku spoke condescendingly as he walked towards a tree near Taiju's left and placed his hand on it. "Don't you see this big X here?" Senku slapped his hand on the tree several times to prove his point.

"So, that's what you were doing?" Yuzuriha responded surprised at the fact that there was a sign of sorts near them.

"Even you didn't know?" Now it was Senku's turn to be surprised.

"Mm." Both Taiju and Yuzuriha replied simultaneously.

"Are you serious?" Senku questioned their answer, only to then hear a growl come from behind him. Looking back slightly, Senku saw something he never expected.

.

_**Meanwhile…**_

.

Looking back like she felt something off, Ayane couldn't help but worry about everyone back at the camp. Throwing the last few things she had in hand, the young raven haired girl rushed back.

She didn't know what the feeling was or what it was about, but she believed something awful had happened. As she began to see the camp within sight, she just rushed past her house and dropped her basket as she continued forward. But much to her surprise, as she tried to leave she, once again ran into a man she thought she'd never see again.

.

"Whoa!" Ayane exclaimed as she ran into the tall, muscular man, only to then feel his arm wrap around her as they both fell forward. "Huh?" Looking up, her eyes widened with shock upon who she saw. "Shishio Tsukasa?"

"Do I know you?" Tsukasa questioned as he continued holding the young raven in his arms, before feeling her push away.

"Why…" But before Ayane could finish her question, Senku spoke up.

"I see you two have already met." Senku barged in as Ayane turned to him quickly.

"Are you ok?" Ayane quickly changed her attention to Senku as she walked up to him.

"Yeah, we're fine. Ran into a bit of trouble, is all." Senku answered to the worried Ayane. "Had to wake him up in order to get out of the situation."

"I…I see." Ayane response did raise a flag in Senku, but ultimately he didn't bother pressing further.

"So anyways this is…" But Senku was never able to finish his sentence as Ayane spoke up.

"Shishio Tsukasa, I know." Ayane replied.

"I guess my name will be infamous among high schoolers." Tsukasa replied calmly as he rose to his feet. "You seemed to have known my name, but may I ask what's yours?" Freezing for a moment, Ayane looked over her shoulder and pleaded for Senku not to speak.

"My name is Saki." Ayane smiled embarrassingly.

"Saki, huh?" Hearing a different name after approaching, both Taiju and Yuzuriha were about to speak up, only to for Senku to look back and shake his head ever so slightly that Tsukasa never took note.

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

Chipping away at the block that now had four points sticking out, Ayane continued working on it completely ignoring the stares that she received from Tsukasa.

As the High School Primate continued looking at Ayane, Senku approached him from behind.

.

"Senku…About Saki…" As Senku looked down at Tsukasa, he noticed the androgynous man never took his eyes off of Ayane. "How long has she been awake?"

"9 months." Senku answered.

"How did she wake up?" Tsukasa asked.

"Same way Taiju and I did." Senku was vague as he answered.

"How did you wake up?" Senku froze at the question. Not knowing how to answer, Senku remained silent but not for long, as Ayane answered for him.

"I woke up near a cave just down the stream. Apparently, that cave had something that allowed the stone around me to crack and free me." Then, looking up at Senku she smiled sweetly. "That sound about right?"

"Yup, same way as Taiju and myself." Senku replied as he looked back at Ayane, only to see her stretch.

"Well, I'm tired I'm going to turn in for the night." Waving the men off, Ayane was about to leave, but was stopped as Tsukasa spoke.

"Just remember this…" Looking back at the High School Primate, everyone stopped what they were doing to look. "From now on as long as I'm with you, you four will never be in danger again."


	10. Chapter 10

With Tsukasa by their side, the four teens were able to finally fill their bellies to the point that they did not want to eat. Especially Ayane.

.

"You're not going to eat, Saki?" Tsukasa asked as he noticed Ayane just looking at the fish before her.

"Oh, sorry. Just thinking about a lot of things." Looking back at the fish, she smiled embarrassingly. "Continuously having my mind think, has helped in a several ways. So, you could say that it's a way to keep myself from going crazy." Taking in her words, Tsukasa just stared at her.

.

_**2 hours later…**_

.

Giving Taiju and Yuzuriha time for themselves, Ayane sent them off. But not before telling them something.

.

"Taiju, Yuzuriha." The couple looked back at Ayane. "Around Tsukasa, just call me Saki, alright?"

"I've been meaning to ask about that. Why Saki?" Yuzuriha questioned why Ayane chose such a name.

"I've used it once before. With Senku…when we were younger." Hoping that answer was sufficient for the two teens, she noticed smiles on their face and nodded before they left.

.

Walking back, Ayane noticed Tsukasa staring at her. Confused by that, and once she was in earshot, she asked.

.

"What's up?" Ayane asked as she slid her hand under her hair to move it out of her sight.

"Oh, I was just wondering why you let those two go off? We could've used their help." Tsukasa questioned Ayane's actions as she let the two important people go.

"Just allowing them some needed time. Afterall, what I heard from Senku is that they've both been madly in love with each other since they met in middle school." Walking up to the shore of the beach, Ayane allowed the salty water run to her feet. As she looked down, she smiled sweetly. "I don't like tearing people apart. I want them to stay as close together as possible."

"What do you feel for Senku?" Tsukasa asked.

"If you're asking if I'm in love with him…well part of me wants to say I am, but my emotions for him are that of admiration." Ayane answered as she rubbed her right hand on her left arm. "So, to answer your question…No, no I'm not." Ayane smiled calmly as she turned to the primate.

.

Standing in silence, Ayane turned her attention towards the ocean before her, before picking up a seashell and smiling at it.

.

"_I could've used this to prevent myself from ever doing what I did._" Tsukasa heard Ayane whisper something, but the sound of the ocean crashing blocked out what Ayane said. Just as he was about to speak up, Senku popped up.

"What's with all the doom and gloom?" As he spoke, Tsukasa noticed Ayane toss the seashell she had in her hand before turning around and walking towards Senku.

"So, Teach, what are we doing today?" Despite trying to put the conversation behind her, Tsukasa was not one to let go.

.

_**Later that night…**_

.

Approaching Ayane, Tsukasa sat beside her as the young girl continued chipping away at the block.

.

"Saki." Tsukasa spoke.

"What?" Ayane asked.

"You seemed to be the only opened-minded person in the group, so I wanted to ask…" Then before Tsukasa could ask his question, a robotic voice spoke up.

"Good evening." Looking around, Tsukasa tried to find the owner of the voice, only for Ayane to get up casually and place her hand on a white bulge in a hollow trunk.

"Hey there, Rei. How's your battery?" Ayane asked as she looked down at the robot in the trunk. But looking closely, Tsukasa noticed Ayane move her lips without saying anything.

"I'm fine, Saki." Rei answered. "My battery is a 50%, I should be able to have full power by next week."

"Is that so?" Turning around, Ayane smiled sweetly. "Sorry to startle you like that. This here is Rei, humanity's last gift to us."

"Hello, I am REI 37." Looking angrily at Rei, Tsukasa controlled his anger and spoke.

"Hello there, I'm Shishio Tsukasa." Tsukasa introduced himself to the robot before him. How long have you been in there?"

"For nearly a year. I was awoken around the same time Miss Saki was awoken." Rei answered.

"Is that so?" Then turning his attention back to Ayane, Tsukasa spoke. "Like I was trying to say: Do you believe what Senku is trying to do is right?"

"No, I don't." Ayane answered quickly. "Believe me when I say that I've tried to convince him to stop, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. Go ahead and try yourself, you're not going to get anywhere." Turning her sight to the shadows of the tree, she noticed a figure scurry away as quietly as they could, before sighing. "But that's just my opinion."

"And what do you think is the right way to go at this?" Tsukasa questioned once more, as he was seeing a similarity in both himself and Ayane.

"I believe we should just start over." Ayane answered as she began to rub her left arm.

"Start over?" Tsukasa repeated.

"Like the story of Adam and Eve." Ayane clarified. "Start off with two people and just expand from there. No need to revive anyone."

.

Tsukasa opened his eyes as he looked at Ayane with shock. Never before had he met a teen like her. Despite being young, she was strong and willing to take on any risk. Then, standing up to meet her, he walked up close and smiled.

.

"What I wanted is to only revive the young and pure-hearted. But I see as though our wishes actually intertwine."

"So, it would seem." Ayane replied.

.

_**After her conversation with Tsukasa…**_

.

Ayane walked towards the ocean and just stared off into the distance. Exhaling deeply, she began to shiver, but as quick as she was to shiver, the shivering stopped as she looked back to see the person she wanted.

.

"So, did you hear all of that, Senku?" Ayane asked as the leek haired boy walked up.

"Yeah, but are you sure?" Senku asked as he approached his young assistant.

"Sure about what?" Ayane repeated.

"Going along with Tsukasa. I mean if he were to find out…" But Ayane placed a finger over Senku's mouth to stop him from talking.

"I've already told you…I've got this handled. Afterall, you said you trusted me, no?" Ayane responded by placing her hand on Senku's cheek.

"You're right, I did say I trusted you." Then turning around, Senku spoke over his shoulder. "What next?" Looking back fully, he noticed Ayane removing a belt sash she had wrapped around her waist.

"You asked what had happened to my dog, right?" Ayane repeated a questioned Senku asked nearly 2 years ago. "You'll find out after I have Taiju revive you."

"Huh?" Just seeing Ayane smile at him was enough to get Senku on edge as he did not understand what she meant, but he will soon come to realize what she meant.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

Pouring in the nitric acid, Senku began to look confused as the acid began to slide down.

.

"Huh? That's weird." Senku spoke out loudly to grab the primate's attention. "Hey, big oaf? There's not enough in here."

"Huh? Is that so? I guess I pull it out early. Oh well, I'll just go back to the cave and grab another." But just Taiju was about to run off, Tsukasa grabbed him and spoke.

"If it's speed you want, then the best choice will be for me to go." Tsukasa replied as he smiled.

"Yeah, he's right." Ayane answered as she cracked her neck. "What you want to do, is follow the river for a quarter of a mile, then turn as soon as you see a large tree, then the Cave of Miracle's will be right in front of you." As she tossed him a clay cup, Tsukasa grabbed it and bolted off like lighting.

.

As soon as he was out of sight, both Ayane, Senku and Yuzuriha went straight to work.

.

"Hey, what's going on?!" Taiju asked confused as to why the three were in overdrive.

"Taiju grab two baskets, you're going to carry everything Senku needs." Ayane ordered as she tossed him two baskets.

"But what about him?" Taiju asked as he pointed towards a stone man that just stood against the tree that held their home.

"I don't know him." I just acted like I did so we'd have a reason to create the fluid." Ayane answered.

"But I thought Senku didn't know how to create it?" Taiju yelled over his shoulder as he began to place everything Senku needed, while Ayane rushed to create another revival fluid.

"He doesn't." Was all Ayane said as she tied a vine to the log that held Rei. "Now come on, that big brute will be coming back any minute." As she began to speed mix the formula, Ayane managed to finish just 2 seconds before the one person she feared came back.

"What's with all the rush?" Freezing upon hearing his voice, Senku rushed in front of Ayane to hide her from Tsukasa's sight.

"Thanks." Ayane thanked Senku as she slipped the revival fluid into a sack he had hanging on his waist and ducked under the table.

"There's only three of you…Where's Saki?" Tsukasa asked as he looked with a murderous intent.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Senku answered, trying to buy time for Ayane. "But if there's something you want to know about Saki, it's this…She'll never give up, even if you break her."

.

Upon hearing that, Tsukasa looked up only to see an arrow just an inch away from his face, but using his insane speed, Tsukasa dodged it, and grabbed it. And at the same time, he jammed it into the ground.

.

"Is that the best you got, Saki?" Tsukasa looked up to see Ayane standing tall on a branch.

"When doing archery, it's all about getting the arrow where you want it. But I like to play a game called misdirection." Hearing her speak her words, Tsukasa looked down only for him to regret it as something sprayed in his eyes causing him to go blind for several seconds. "Let's go!" Ayane yelled as she jumped down from the branch and pulled along Senku.

.

_**Rushing off away from the camp…**_

.

The four teens ran with all their might, hoping that Tsukasa does not regain his sight for another few seconds.

.

"Hey, Tsukasa's fast, so what's to say he won't catch up with us?!" Yuzuriha questioned between breaths as she ran behind Ayane, who was carrying Senku due to him being exhausted, and Taiju.

"What he punctured was an airtight bag with pepper inside!" Was all Ayane yelled back as she continued to run.

.

_**Back at the camp…**_

.

Feeling his way, Tsukasa's eyes burned to the point it felt like he was holding it above fire. Then feeling a cup and shook it around, he heard something liquid. Smelling its contents, he realized what it was.

Splashing the liquid on his eyes, he rubbed it off and opened them. Looking down at the cup he realized that the substance was river water. Crushing the cup, he smiled.

.

"_You had to play as their friend. Smart move, Saki. Smart move._" Then looking around with his limited vision, he saw something he thought he would never see. "An arrow?" As he approached the arrow that stuck out like a sore thumb, it finally clicked as to why Ayane spoke to him like that. "So, that's what she meant. It's all about misdirection." Then looking at the small path that the trees left, he knew which direction the group went. "I'll leave them for a bit. Saki will slow them down just enough for me to catch up. And when I do, I'll force Senku to give up the formula."

.

Walking at a mediocre pace, Tsukasa smiled knowing he had someone he could trust to slow down the man who could end his entire dream.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Author's Note: **_

_**...Ayane is insanely smart, and since you're her creator, I suppose you're the smart one in this case lol. Tsukasa be gettin' catfished**__**.**_

_**FyreDraagyn12: I'm not smart. I'm just an idiot who writes whatever. But I thank you for your kind words.**_

_**.**_

_**I hope you all enjoy the story.**_

.

* * *

.

Walking for some time, Ayane looked up and closed her eyes. As the distant winds began to blow her direction, her long black hair flowed like a calm river. Looking back she realized everyone what getting ready to leave again.

Then turning her attention towards a tree near her, she sliced into it quickly and walked back towards the group.

.

"What were you doing, Ayane?" Yuzuriha asked as she saw Ayane walking up to them.

"Nothing much. Just trying to figure out where we are, is all." Ayane replied as she put her hand in the makeshift pocket, she had in her clothes and pulled out a roughly made sextant. She then proceeded to point it towards the sky, and at the same time Senku did the same.

"This thing doesn't work." Senku spoke after a several seconds of looking up towards the sky. "I can't even tell where we are!"

"That's because the Earth tilted." Ayane replied as she continued looking up towards the daylit sky.

"What?" Senku questioned his young apprentice's words as he turned his attention towards her.

"I saw it when I first woke up. I saw Polaris clearly in the Spring, which I thought was weird." Ayane began to explain what she saw over the years. "I began to research the animals that depended on the moon and stars for directions. It would've been easier if there were birds, but they were all turned to stone."

"By how much has the Earth tilted?" Senku asked as he noticed Ayane finish her speech.

"It's just an estimation but somewhere between 15 and 28 degrees. That was the closest I was able to get, because you know I…I was in middle school."

"15 to 28 degrees, huh?" Placing the sextant back up, and following Ayane's numbers, Senku began to chuckle. "I know where we need to go."

"Hmm?" Ayane, Taiju and Yuzuriha all looked at Senku before looking at each other in confusion.

.

After making their way to Hakone and seeing another piece of humanity still standing in the form of a giant Buddha statue, the group made their way towards some hot springs.

As they began to settle down for the day, this moment gave Senku and Ayane time to chat about the next phase in their plans.

Chipping away at the block, and seeing how it was almost finished, Ayane began to smile.

.

"Ayane." Senku spoke up.

"Where are the other's?" Ayane asked, not once looking away from what she had in her hands.

"Their taking a bath right now. So, what now?" Senku asked, hoping to get more out of Ayane's plan.

"Like I said, you have to die, and I have to join Tsukasa." Ayane placed down the block and rock she had in her hand and looked up towards Senku. "After you've been revived, you have to find Hansuke and gain his trust. Then, after all that, you do what you have to do."

"You know Tsukasa believes that I have the formula. What are we going to do about that?" Without talking, Ayane looked down. Then after a few minutes of nothing but silence, she rose to her feet, turned around to face Senku, and embraced him. "Hey!" But as he was about to struggle, Ayane began to whisper.

"I'll only tell you half. Remember this well." As Ayane opened her mouth, she began to speak as slowly and as carefully as she possibly could. "You got it?" She asked as she finished talking.

"Mm. We can definitely win against Tsukasa and keep you out of harm's way with this strategy, 10 billion percent!" Senku smiled as Ayane backed up, and she smiled along with him.

.

_**The Next Day…**_

.

As their plan was to grab gunpowder to create guns in the Stone World, Taiju and Ayane began to pound at the stone before them to try and find even a sliver of sulfur.

After spending a good 2 hours, the group managed to find what they were looking for. Grabbing a bag worth of sulfur, Ayane passed it on to Senku, to which he began to mix it with crushed seashells and burnt wood charcoal. Finally being able to grab a makeshift gunpowder, Senku was about to crush it, when Taiju jumped the gun and grabbed a giant boulder instead. As Taiju struck the rock against the powder, the friction between the stone that supported the gun powder and the boulder that Taiju held created a blast large enough to send black smoke several feet into the sky.

Getting up from the sudden blast, Ayane looked forward and began to laugh at her hearts contents, but what she saw after she opened her eyes shocked her to her very core.

.

"What's up, Ayane? You became very quiet." Senku spoke up as he noticed the young girl completely silent.

.

Without warning, Ayane grabbed a cloth and began to fan in over the smoke.

.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" Senku exclaimed as he noticed Ayane giving oxygen toward the flame instead of putting it out.

"Senku!" Yuzuriha called out to Senku, to which the young scientist turned his attention to see what Ayane and Yuzuriha saw.

"What?" Senku was astounded as he saw another trail of smoke, almost as if it were response to the smoke they created. "_So, that's why._" Senku said to himself as he turned back to Ayane. "Come on! We have to keep the flame alive!"

.

Now rushing to keep the smoke going, Ayane waited for the group to place wood down before giving off another signal.

.

"_1…2…3_." Ayane counted in her head as threw the cloth over the smoke and pulled it away to break the smoke. "_Rei did say that Byakuya made it down to Earth. If that's someone who came from Byakuya, they may be able to help Senku. I can't let them get away!_" As her conviction solidified she continued to fan the smoke. "_1…2…3._" Repeating the pattern as best she could, Ayane continued to fan the flame. "_This is…_"

"_A double-edged sword!_" Senku finished Ayane's thought as he looked towards her and saw the eyes of someone who was ready to say goodbye. Nodding at her solid conviction, Senku rushed off to grab more wood.

.

_**As she continued to fan the flame…**_

.

Ayane was watching the smoke that came from the forest. As her heart began to ease, she began to see a signal coming from the smoke in response to hers. But her instincts kicked in as she began to hear heavy footsteps.

Sighing in relief, she turned around with a slight grin on her face. There before her stood Tsukasa, and Yuzuriha, clearly being held hostage.

.

"You came faster than I expected." Ayane answered.

"The marking you left me on the trees, as well as that smoke signal made it easier for me to find you, Saki." Hearing their conversation firsthand, put Yuzuriha in shock.

"You…betrayed us?" Seeing Ayane smile only confirmed Yuzuriha's suspicions. "Why?!"

"I told Senku, so I might as well tell you." Looking at Yuzuriha straight in her eyes, Ayane spoke. "The old humanity had its chance and began to poison the world. But when that ray of light came, I saw it as a new beginning. I tried to get Senku to stop…But that man won't listen to reason." Ayane mocked Senku as she lifted her arms and shook her head. "Don't worry, Senku will explain the rest."

"Did you manage to get it?" Tsukasa asked.

"Only half. That idiot trusted me enough to only give half." Ayane answered, only to get Yuzuriha confused.

"_Wait…are they talking about the revival fluid? Doesn't Ayane know it?_" Realizing what Ayane was doing, Yuzuriha opened her mouth in shock, then as she bit down on her teeth, she began to play along. "Senku will never give you the formula, I won't allow it!"

"And what are you going to do about it? Cause from my point of view, you're on the losing side of this battle." As she said this, Ayane placed her hand on the back of her neck and began to crack it. "Remember this, only those who think ahead can always win. It's all about misdirection."

"I couldn't agree more." A voice everyone recognized spoke up. Turning around, Ayane noticed Senku standing there, completely out of breath.

"OH, my." Ayane answered after seeing Senku. "Did you actually run all the way up here?"

"I saw the flame dying, so I had to. And the first thing I see when I get back, is this?" Senku looked at the situation and despised it with every ounce of his body. "Luckily for me, I never gave you the full formula, so I still have the advantage."

.

But as Senku spoke those words, using his immense speed, Tsukasa cut Yuzuriha's hair, which put Senku on edge.

.

"Don't think for a second you have the advantage, Senku." Ayane spoke. "During my time with you, I've come to realize one thing."

"OH, and what's that?" Senku asked.

"You care too much." Ayane answered. "You decided to revive your friends, or so I was told. But if it were me, I would've buried them to keep them safe from harm." As she began to walk in front of Tsukasa and Yuzuriha, Ayane stood there facing Senku head on. "Now, why don't you give me the other half? It's for the best."

"Don't…" Yuzuriha's voice shivered as she spoke. "Don't do it…Senku." Looking back, Ayane noticed Yuzuriha grabbing the stone knife Tsukasa held and began to point it at her own neck. "I don't matter. But, since you have half of the formula, they can't create it." As she began to slowly push the sharp stone into her neck, Yuzuriha continued to speak. "Tell Taiju I'm sorry and tell him I was really happy when he told me that he loved me."

"The revival fluid…" Senku spoke after a heavy sigh. "Is a solution of nitric acid and alcohol. After filtering the miracle fluid from the cave, mix it with nearly pure 96% distilled alcohol." After stating what he had said he looked up. "Saki has the rest."

.

Looking down at his partner in crime, Tsukasa noticed Ayane nod in agreement. Seeing her agree, Tsukasa launched Yuzuriha away, and began to slowly walk up towards Senku.

What happened next, didn't even take a second. Hearing the sound of wood snapping bones, Ayane closed her eyes before opening them again to see Senku's lifeless body fall towards the ground.

Despite knowing what to expect, it still pained Ayane. It pained her to see the man she had spent nearly 3 years with, die in the most painless way. But solidifying herself, she walked up towards Tsukasa and looked at him.

.

"There's no point in staying here any longer. I have the formula." Ayane spoke up, in hopes of taking away the high school primate from the location before a certain oaf comes.

"You're right. Let's go." Tsukasa answered as he began to walk away.

"By the way…" Ayane spoke up just before she left. "If I'm being honest…the time I spent with you all…I really did enjoy it. Especially when Senku had the answers to the questions I asked, '_on him_'." Leaving just as Taiju made it, he saw what had happened and began to rush towards Tsukasa and Ayane.

"Wait!" He yelled as he ran. As Tsukasa turned to face him, Ayane put her arm up and spoke.

"Leave that to me." Ayane answered as flicked her wrist and launched a sharp rock towards Taiju, hitting its mark just above the brute's right eye. "That was a warning. It's best if you followed Yuzuriha's lead. If you don't…I won't hesitate to kill you."

.

As the big oaf fell onto his back from the sudden smack, he looked back to see Ayane and Tsukasa leave his sight.

Feeling guilt run throughout his whole body, Taiju lifted his right arm and smacked it on the ground under him. As the tears began to stream, he began to curse himself.

.

"Taiju." Yuzuriha spoke up in hopes of stopping Taiju's tantrum. "We still have a chance. Ayane made sure of it."

"What?" Taiju couldn't believe the words he was hearing. Wiping away his tears, he rushed to his feet. "I thought she betrayed us."

"She told me Senku will explain the rest. But we have to bring him back." Thinking about the meaning behind Ayane's words, Yuzuriha remembered an action Ayane never did before. "She cracked her neck."

"Ayane? I thought she told us she was afraid to do that…" Realizing the meaning behind it, Taiju flipped Senku over and noticed a piece of stone still stuck to the top of his neck. "There's a stone piece!"

.

As the two lovers began to search around their stuff, they quickly found the last revival fluid created by Ayane in Senku's bag that hung from his hip.

.

"Taiju! Here!" Yuzuriha exclaimed as she passed on the fluid to Taiju.

.

_**Meanwhile…**_

.

With Tsukasa leading the way, and Ayane a little bit behind him, the two began to make their way back to camp. Sighing in defeat, Ayane continuously looked back every few steps.

Taking note of this, Tsukasa spoke over his shoulder.

.

"Is something bothering you?" He asked, concerned over his ally's well-being.

"It's just…I woke up with them around me, so it kind of feels weird being separated from them." Ayane answered as she walked past Tsukasa. "But as of now…I'm their enemy."

.

Watching her walk past him, Tsukasa's worries were washed away with her words, but as she began to walk for a bit only to stop again.

.

"What's…" Tsukasa stopped himself as he felt a malicious intent. "You…57 meters behind us. I surprised my ally was the one to feel you first. Means I've been getting sloppy."

.

As the two turned around, Ayane's eyes widened in shock as she saw what she never thought she'd see before her.

But for some reason, in that moment, Rei's words flowed back into her ears.

.

* * *

.

"_So, Byakuya and the 5 other astronauts came back down to Earth a week after the petrification beam hit?" Ayane asked as she was trying her best to create a revival fluid._

_ "Yes, and I was supposed to wait for their return to the ISS, but I went against my programming, and fell to Earth. That's when I met the Doctor." REI answered._

_ "Hmm." Was all Ayane responded._

.

* * *

.

Suddenly remembering the conversation, Ayane began to back up slightly. Looking back at her, Tsukasa knew that the blonde girl before them was not someone Senku revived.

But as he began to collect his thoughts, the young girl smiled at the two of them and rushed straight towards Ayane. Seeing this, Ayane back up, and using her gained dexterity, bent backwards, and flipped her legs up in hopes of catching the warrior before them off guard.

Sliding back, Tsukasa took the reins and began to deflect all the attacks that came his way. All the while, Ayane began to use her mind to try and understand the situation.

.

"_Let's see. Not only is she swift, but she's more agile than myself, meaning she's has years of experience. Then that means…_" Now realizing the situation, Ayane rushed forward. As she slipped between Tsukasa and their mysterious attacker, who seemed to be out for blood for Senku's sake and proceeded to grab her arms.

.

Stunned by Ayane's speed left the girl immobile for split second. Using that opening, Ayane smacked her head into the blonde's as hard as she could, then dropping to the ground, swiped her legs under the warriors, before once again using her dexterity and kicking the blonde's abdomen.

Moving back from the sudden kick to her stomach, the blonde warrior held her head and stomach in pain, but that all came to a halt as she heard a tree falling. Looking to her left, she noticed a giant tree coming her way, but just as she was about to move out of harms way, the warrior slipped, and the tree fell on top of her.

Breathing heavily, Ayane rose to her feet with the help from Tsukasa. Walking up, Ayane noticed the dust clear and the warrior was pinned down by the tree, all while laying down in a slight crack in the ground as her saving grace.

Curiously looking around, the warrior could help but admire her opponents thinking.

.

"_Amazing…she acts like him. Like my brother._" The warrior thought to herself as she noticed Ayane approaching her.

"Saki, what are you doing? We have to go!" Tsukasa barked. "Taiju and Yuzuriha know how to make gunpowder. If we don't stop them…"

"They're not going to. I made sure of that." Ayane answered over her shoulder. "But if you want to feel at ease, head on before me. I have a few words I'd like to say to this one."

"I'll be going ahead then." Tsukasa replied as he began to walk away, all the while trusting Ayane's words.

.

Watching Ayane approach her slowly, the warrior resolved her will, and awaited her supposed death. Now just standing above her, Ayane looked down at the blonde and spoke softly.

.

"Byakuya Ishigami." Was all she had to say in order to get a surprised look from the girl. "I thought so." Then grabbing a sharp rock, Ayane began to carve into the tree that held down the girl.

"Who are you?!" The blonde asked. "How do you know of my village's creator?!"

"I see, he created a village. That's good info for your allies, but even greater information for you enemies." Ayane answered as she finished her carvings and tossed the rock. "Just a word of advice: Trust Senku. He's your only chance at winning." With those words, Ayane rushed after Tsukasa.

"Senku? Who's that?" The blonde asked herself before realizing who she was looking at. "She even looked like him…Saki, huh?"


	12. Chapter 12

Running after Tsukasa, Ayane couldn't help but admire the distance the High School Primate put between himself and her.

Catching her breath, Ayane looked back once more before continuing her run to try and attempt to close the distance between her partner.

.

"_Senku…You better be right about this. If not, you're going to get chewed out when I see you again!_" Ayane thought to herself as she ran.

.

_**Arriving back at camp, late at night…**_

.

Completely exhausted and tired, Ayane walked up towards her treehouse and climbed in. Without any thought, Ayane plopped herself on the bed and fell into a deep slumber, or at least she should have.

In a split moment, she heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and without hesitation, swung her leg only to stop it just before the impact after she saw who it was.

.

"Tsukasa." Ayane stated.

"You're back." Tsukasa answered as he looked away. "I guess you were right. Whatever you did during our separation, forced Taiju and Yuzuriha to stay far away from camp." Smiling embarrassingly, Ayane sat down and began to take a deep breath.

"I just gave them a stern lecture, which was all." Ayane replied as she looked down on her bed before looking back up. "I have a couple things I wish to go over with you, is that alright?"

"Of course." Tsukasa answered as he sat down to face the young girl.

"First, it's about the revival fluid." Seeing his attitude change, scared Ayane a bit, but ultimately brushed it off. "I'm not going to tell you it, for security reasons. While our ideals may align with each other, I don't fully trust you, and I presume you feel the same way?"

"I do." Tsukasa replied as he looked at his partner in crime. "So, what do want?"

"Simple, I'll make them for you here." Ayane gave her answer. "But I wish for this location to be hidden by others. If someone where to find out about me being able to create the revival fluid, who knows what they will do. Is that something you can agree to?"

"I can. In fact I'm actually surprised you came up with this even though you had other things to keep track of." Tsukasa responded with a trusting tone. "Very well, I shall leave the creation of the revival fluid to you."

"Now we can begin our first talk." Ayane spoke with a joyous tone, knowing that the days before her were going to be rough.

.

As the day came to an end, Tsukasa went out to retrieve all the young he could find, while Ayane slept peacefully for the first time in nearly 3 years. But as her mind began to wander into a deeper sleep, she began to remember a time she thought she had forgotten.

.

* * *

_The sight of a young, thin girl running with all her might, all the while Ayane was right behind her. The girl's hair was as black as her, but the length of it was much shorter. Unlike Ayane's hair which extended past her shoulders, the girl's hair extended to just below her ears._

_._

_ "Wait!" Ayane exclaimed as she began to lose breath and speed against the girl before her._

_ "Come on […]!" The girl before her yelled a name Ayane was unsure of. "You're too slow!" As girl turned around, the Sun's rays blinded Ayane to the point to where she couldn't see the girl's face. "You have to be faster!"_

.

* * *

Waking up from the dream, Ayane felt something rush down her face. Sliding her finger under her eyes, Ayane saw a tear running down her finger.

.

"I'm crying?" Shaking her head, Ayane rubbed her eyes clean and began her day.

.

_**Walking behind Kohaku…**_

.

Senku, Taiju and Yuzuriha followed their new companion, whom they saved just a day prior. Astonished at how easily they won her over, Yuzuriha whispered to Senku.

.

"Senku…Is it alright to trust her?"

"Ayane left two letters from the American Alphabet on the tree that held her down, they might have some meaning. If anything, she wants us to trust her." Senku answered Yuzuriha's slight suspicions.

.

As the continued to follow the blonde before them, they saw a village. The sight of a village confused the trio as they had believed that they were the only one who had woken up from the petrification.

.

"Is that…?" Yuzuriha spoke out of breath at the sight before her.

"A village?" Even the usual calm airhead known as Taiju was shocked at what he saw before him.

"No point in standing around here." Senku spoke up after a few more seconds of silence. "Let's go." He ordered as he began to walk towards the village.

.

_**Within the Village…**_

.

A boy with dark black hair was seen pressing his ear against yet another blonde haired girl's back. As he listened to the sounds coming from her chest, he squeezed shut his eyes from the sound that came out.

Lifting his ear from her back, he tapped her back to let the girl know she could stop. Picking up what looked to be a parchment scroll, the boy began to write on it, and just as he rose to his feet a man with blonde hair and a dark brown beard approached him.

.

"How is she?" The man asked.

"It seems fine for now. But as far as I can tell it only seems to be getting worse." The boy replied. "The miracle water Kohaku brings has helped her this far, but it can only do so much." Turning his attention towards the outside of the hut he was in, the boy sighed. "_I have to find the ancient writing from our ancestors. That might be the only way to save Ruri._"

.

But the boy's thoughts were interrupted as another villager entered the hut.

.

"Sir, Kohaku is back…and she had brought strangers to the village!" But before the mixed hair man could show his anger, the black haired boy extended his arm out.

"I'll deal with them. They could be enemies." The boy answered as he looked over his shoulder.

"Kuro…Alright. Deal with them and send Kohaku in as soon as you see her." Nodding at his father's words, Kuro left without another word.

.

_**Approaching the bridge that allowed passage to the village…**_

.

Kuro walked it without any worry but as he began to approach, he began to see mysterious floating orbs. Curious at to why objects such as that appeared out of nowhere, his answer became obvious as he saw a man with white hair with green tips blowing something out of his hand and seeing the guards of the village poking at them.

As one bubble approached him, he placed his hand out, and noticed it pop as soon as it landed on his palm. Smelling it, he soon realized what it was.

.

With Senku enjoying seeing the level of idiocy coming from the two guards, he paid no mind to the man approaching, at least until Taiju spoke up.

.

"Hey, Senku! Someone's coming." As Taiju spoke, Senku turned his attention towards Kuro who was standing there admire the view of the bubble.

"Another idiot, huh?" But Senku soon swallowed his words as Kuro spoke.

"These objects…they're made of seashells, aren't they?" Kuro spoke, which shocked the trio. Now laughing at his own idiocy, Senku casually approached Kuro, to which the guards pointed their spears at Senku.

"Ginro, Kinro. Put down your weapons." Kuro ordered to which Kinro spoke back.

"It is the duty of a guard to protect the village and its master." But just as Kinro was about to speak again, Kuro spoke first.

"Your master is Kokuyo. I am merely his eyes and ears. Is that understood? Now stand down." With just a few words, the brothers placed down their spears and allowed Kuro to walk forward. "Forgive me about their attitudes. My name is Kuro, and you three are?"

"Senku." Senku spoke nonchalantly before introducing the others. "The ones behind are my allies: Taiju and Yuzuriha."

"Hello." Yuzuriha answered embarrassingly.

"Yo! I'm Taiju!" Taiju proudly exclaimed.

"Senku, Taiju and Yuzuriha, correct?" Kuro was then seen moving his finger back and forward and he seemed to be thinking of something. "Alright. I've remembered your names." Now turning his attention towards Kohaku, the young girl back down a bit. "Kohaku, I will overlook your attitude this time, but next time I will not be so lenient. Now take the miracle water to Ruri. I've suppressed father's anger for the time being. Best not to make angrier than he already is."

"Yes, sir." Kohaku responded sheepishly as she took the water and looked back. "I'll return shortly." The blonde then ran off without another word. Sighing after seeing her leave, Kuro turned to the brothers.

"Kinro, Ginro. You may leave. I'll keep our guest company." Bowing at his words, the brother left for the other side of the bridge. "Forgive me about what you have just witnessed."

"Oh, no. It's alright. We were the ones who came without warning." Yuzuriha spoke in place of Senku. "But still, you controlled the atmosphere with just a few words."

"Something like this is nothing. But seeing as how you know the knowledge of ancient past, I thought it be best to calm the situation before it got worse." Once again, shocked by his words, the trio stood still. Chuckling at the sight, Kuro began to walk. "Follow me, I have a place you three may stay at. Sadly, I cannot permit you to enter the village as you are strangers to them."

.

Without another word, Kuro began to walk.

.

"Should we follow him?" Yuzuriha asked as she looked towards Senku.

"Let's go." Senku answered as he began to follow.

.

With the group following this new man who introduced himself without fear, Senku continued to keep an eye on him. As Yuzuriha and Taiju looked around, they noticed themselves going farther and farther away from the village. Out of fear, Yuzuriha spoke up.

.

"Excuse me, but how far are we planning on going?" Hearing the fear in her voice, Kuro stopped where he stood, and in turn the trio stopped where they were.

"Can you not see the village?" He spoke slightly over his shoulder. Seeing this, Senku smiled.

"Now I see why Kohaku was scared of you." Senku spoke up while still showing a proud smile.

"Oh, I'm surprised. An outsider actually cares about my sister's well-being." Kuro spoke in a condescending tone.

"Senku, what's going on?" Yuzuriha asked as she attached herself to Taiju.

"Simple, he had no plan to treat us as guests." Senku replied as he continued to have his eyes on Kuro, who just stood there, smiling. "Tell me the truth, you were going to kill us, huh?" Now smiling more, Kuro turned around.

"That's right. We must follow the laws placed down by our ancestors. Now I don't know where you came from, but I suggest you return to whatever hole you crawled out…" But Kuro stopped as he heard a voice spoke.

"_In dire times, we must rely on each other. No matter where they come from, we must trust those who offer themselves in the name of science._" Shocked at the voice, Kuro looked around.

"Where did that voice come from?!" He looked towards Senku.

"Simple, that is called a recording. Isn't that right, Rei?" Senku looked over his shoulder to look at the log that held Rei.

"Correct, sir! I saw your heartrate increasing, so I played the recording from the Doctor." Still confused about the sudden voice speaking up left Kuro speechless. Then after a few seconds of silence from him, the raven haired boy began to chuckle before bursting out in laughter.

"Forget killing you! You guys are far too interesting to kill." Continuing his laughter, Kuro held his stomach from the pain he felt. After laughing for a few more moments, he sighed a breath of relief. "Sorry about that. My original intention was to kill you here and let you rot, but now that's changed." Pointing to the left of him, the trio looked in the direction pointed at them. "Just head on that way and you'll find yourself at a hut owned by Chrome. Win him over and you'll have a solid connection to me." Walking away with those words, Kuro turned back slightly and smiled before disappearing.

"Should we trust him?" Yuzuriha spoke up after she saw Kuro leave.

"What other choice do we have? Afterall, we're in the middle of nowhere." Walking away, the other two followed suits. "By the Rei, what did that recording mean?"

"Oh, it was a motto the Doctor followed his entire life. And seeing as how you three are still alive, I think those words still exist in some manner or another." Rei replied as he began to power down. "I'll be powering down for bit. Goodbye…Senku…."

"Alright, let's go win this Chrome over and start our Kingdom of Science!" As the other two cheered in response, they continued to walk.

.

_**Back at the village…**_

.

Walking back casually, Kohaku ran up toward Kuro in a rush.

.

"Where are they?!" Kohaku spoke through her breaths.

"Hmm? Oh the outsiders? They're headed towards Chrome's." Patting Kohaku's shoulder, he walked past her. "No matter where they come from, we must trust those who offer themselves… They repeated the words of my ancestor. That means they are trustworthy. Good luck!" Kuro exclaimed as he put his thumb up before walking away.

"Good luck?" Kohaku repeated before shaking her head and rushed out of the village and ran towards Senku's group."


	13. Chapter 13

With the early morning dew hitting her nose, Ayane woke up and began a start to her day. Walking out of her hut, she looked out to see several thousand pieces of broken stones.

Looking down at them, she looked over at the deeper part of her home to see almost perfect assembled stone statues. It had only been a week since Ayane separated herself from Senku and the gang, and during that time she had been hard at work doing what Senku had asked her to do.

.

"_Listen…_" Senku spoke as Ayane still embraced him after telling him half of the formula to the revival fluid. "_I want you to try and assemble as many broken statues as possible. Do you think you can do that?_"

.

Hearing heavy footsteps approach, Ayane ripped a vine and a large vine sheet swung down covering the hole that was made. Just as she turned around, she noticed Tsukasa standing just a mere foot behind her.

.

"Are you alright?" He asked in a concerned voice.

"Just tired. Come on." Ayane replied as she led Tsukasa away from the vine curtain.

.

Pulling out a wooden box, Ayane handed it over to Tsukasa.

.

"There should be enough for at least 20 people. Don't go overboard." Ayane ordered. "Afterall, I can only do so much with the amount you bring me."

"Should I bring larger amounts from now on?" Tsukasa questioned seeing as how Ayane was doing most of the work on reviving everyone.

"No." The raven-haired girl answered as she turned around to look at the rising Sun. "We can't bring suspicion to the forest…By the way, any word from Gen?" Ayane changed the topic.

"Nothing yet, but I believe we should be hearing something soon." Tsukasa replied. "Why?"

"Oh, it's just…No, nothing. Just forget it." Ayane picked up a bag and began to walk away. "I'll be back in a few days." Without another word she walked into the misty, early forest without fear.

.

_**Walking with a lot on her mind…**_

.

Ayane paid no mind to the bear that walked just several feet to her right. Looking over, she noticed the thick brown furred creature shake its head as it continued to strut along the path it knew. Smiling sweetly, Ayane continued to walk with her forest buddy.

Walking out of the forest, she looked at the horizon before her that she's come to know very well. Sitting herself down, Ayane felt the calm wind blow from under her.

Closing her eyes, she listened to the sounds of nature before speaking to herself.

.

"I wonder…are they doing alright?" Ayane asked herself as she looked up towards the early morning sky. Laying on her back, Ayane smiled. "I'm sure they're alright."

.

_**In the Village…**_

.

Screaming in pain and exhaustion, Senku, Kohaku, Chrome and a girl wearing a green pumpkin on her head named Suika, began to attempt to put air into a makeshift furnace. After several seconds, Suika stopped from exhaustion and fell back. Seeing this, Taiju rushed in and began to pump in more air than anyone else.

Watching the entire event unfold before her, Yuzuriha chuckled embarrassingly, while Hansuke slept on her leg. Looking down at the wolf, Yuzuriha smiled.

.

"To think that in just a week we'd be doing something like this. Isn't this unbelievable, Hansuke?" And like the wolf responded to her questioned, Hansuke huffed before rubbing his head on Yuzuriha's leg.

.

_**10 minutes later…**_

.

Walking up to Chrome's shed, Kuro saw a peculiar sight. Senku, Kohaku, Chrome and Suika all sprawled on the ground like they just had a meeting with death, all the while Taiju continued to pump as much air as he could all by himself.

Shaking his head, the raven-haired boy walked up. Hearing footsteps approach from the distance, Senku looked at Kuro.

Rubbing his forehead in disbelief, Kuro spoke up.

.

"Can I ask what you are doing, Senku?"

"Trying to build a magnet." Senku spoke through his breaths.

"A magnet?" Kuro repeated as he looked at the furnace which Taiju was currently pumping furiously with air. "With the furnace?" The boy pointed.

"We're trying to melt the black sand." Kohaku spoke as she stood up. "But it's difficult."

"Yeah, of course it is." Kuro answered, catching Senku's attention. "Manually pumping with something as inadequate as a bag isn't going to get you what you want. What you want…"

"Is a device that can move on its own without the need for human power." A feminine voice spoke up, causing Taiju to stop pumping and forcing Senku to take his attention off of Kuro and towards this new person who spoke without delay. "Isn't that right?" The woman smiled straight towards Senku over her shoulder, her faded shoulder-length raven black hair hiding her face from his sight.

"Yup. 10 billion percent." Senku replied as he began to see that not everyone in the village was a complete idiot. "But how did you know?"

"Mother, you should've sent a signal ahead of time so I can at least prepare of your return." Kuro spoke up.

"Oh, Kuro." Kuro's mother giggled as she stood up and turned around to show her face. "You know I'm not one for customs."

.

Upon seeing her face, Senku froze. Despite the woman clearly being in her early to mid-30s by looks alone, her face resembled that of someone he knew well. Turning around to see not only Senku's shocked face, but Yuzuriha's as well, Kuro introduced the Ayane look-alike.

.

"Senku, this is my mother, Anri. But you can just call her An." Kuro introduced his mother Anri as she stood up and walked behind Kuro.

"Kuro…did you say Senku?" Anri questioned the validity of son's words.

"I did. Why do you ask mother?" Kuro, now curious as to why his mother asked about Senku's name, turned to face the woman fully.

"It's probably my imagination." Anri answered as she began to walk away, but not before offering a word of advice. "Try using the river. I'm sure the speed of the water can help you in greater ways you'd never expect." After leaving a smile for the leek haired color boy, Anri picked up her bag and walked off towards the village without another word.

.

Still in a daze from seeing another Ayane, Senku began to hold back his laughter. Now curious as to why the man before him was chuckling, Kuro questioned Senku's odd actions.

.

"Is something wrong, Senku?"

"Hey, Kuro?" Senku then asked his own question. "Do you know the name of your ancestor? And if so, the name of their family?"

"Why are you asking me that?" Kuro was startled by the sudden question, but ultimately answered. "My ancestors name was… Masahiro, I believe. And his children's names were Keiko and Michi."

"I mean extended family, like nieces or nephews?" Senku reiterated his question.

"I'm not too sure as to what you mean, but if you want concrete answers then speak with my mother. She may have the answers you're looking for." Kuro replied with extraordinarily little confidence to Senku's questions.

"Anri, huh?" Senku spoke to himself as he looked towards the village.

.

_**As the Sun began to set…**_

.

Seen sewing without rest, Ayane was so focused that she paid no mind to the darkness that began to encroach upon her. It was only when it became increasingly difficult to see where she was sewing that Ayane realized the day was coming to an end.

.

"I guess it's time to wake him up." Ayane said to herself as she stood up and pulled out a cup of revival fluid. "Well, let's not let him wait any longer."

.

After placing what seemed to be the final pieces to a stone statue and placing clothes, a simple vest that exposed his chest with thick pants, on the man, the raven-haired girl splashed on revival fluid and waited. The second turned to minutes, then the sounds Ayane enjoyed hearing began to resonate in the still night air.

As the statue cracked with an X across the man's chest and a line that extended under his right eye to beyond his neck, the stone began to fall off, allowing his right eye to look out onto the new world.

.

"Good morning, sir." Ayane said before thinking again on her words. "Well, it would be morning in America, but well nonetheless…Hello, Mr. Oliver." Ayane smiled as the rest of the man's stone prison fell off showing who the man was.

.

His hair was a dark brown, with his eyes being the same. His skin was a dark Caucasian. His body was lean but slightly muscular and stood at about 6 ft. And upon seeing Ayane, the name named Oliver smiled.

.

"Hey there, squirt." His mid-deep tone of voice spoke with joy. "Where's your family? Especially that uncle if yours. I still have a beef with him."

"Don't know." Ayane replied as she turned her back to him. "Ever since that day, I've never seen them since."

"Hmm?" Was all Oliver replied. "So, how long has it been?" The man asked a he looked around only to see areas he did not recognize.

"It has been roughly 3700 years since humanity was turned to stone." Ayane answered before turning around and extended her arms out. "And the person you see before you is the first one to wake up from the stone."

.

As Oliver' eyes widened, he began to laugh as if he knew where the conversation was headed.

.

"If your laughing, then that means you understand what I need, right?" Ayane's voices went from confident to embarrass the more she spoke.

"Yup, I am your one and only gun expert, as well as a U.S. Army Vet. You need guns, right?" Ayane nodded as she handed him a bag. "What's this?" Oliver asked as he began to inspect the bag.

"There's a village about 3 days to your right." Ayane pointed. "That village was created by Byakuya Ishigami. I have sent my allies there, as well one more. Go there and you can create your guns."

"Alright, but I don't have to leave right away, right?" Seating himself, Oliver pointed to the ground in front of him and waited. "Let's catch up, shall we?"

.

_**After an hour of speaking…**_

.

Ayane was fast asleep on Oliver's left as he looked up towards the sky.

.

"You try too hard, Lil' Shiori. Trying to live up to your sister's reputation and trying your best to be independent. You're just a child, so it's fine to act like one." Looking back up towards the night sky and chuckling to himself, Oliver sighed. "Masahiro…your niece is trying her best. Wherever you are at, I hope your proud of her."

.

As the Sun rose on the new day, Ayane, known by Oliver as Shiori, smelled something burning. Upon smelling smoke, she rose quickly and armed herself, only to startle Oliver when he noticed how quickly she got up.

.

"I'm guessing being awake for 5 years really does do some good, huh?" Oliver joked around as he began to put of the fire.

"It's not as good as you make it out to be." Then, glaring at the old man before her, Ayane pointed at him to emphasize her point. "This is all your fault, since you did teach me about survival instincts."

"Why thank you." Oliver took the young raven-haired girl's words as compliments. "I knew they could come in handy one day."

"Yeah, and it's a day I never thought would happen." Ayane replied as she stood up.

"Shiori." Hearing her true name, Ayane looked over at Oliver who stared at her with a serious expression. "Don't keep lying to yourself, alright? It's only going to hurt you more in the end."

"I know. But..." Holding onto her shoulders, Ayane felt herself having a mini panic attack, only to feel Oliver's hand on her shoulder. "Mr. Oliver?"

"Take your time. There's no need to rush." Were the last words Oliver spoke as the two embraced and went their separate ways.


	14. Story Update

Hey guys, sorry for not updating as often as you'd like, but things have been crazy where I am. So, this is just a page to tell you that, while I'm not stopping the story, I'll be re-writing it. I hope you can understand as I lost the momentum of the current story.

But with this one, I hope to put more effort into it.

Also I hope you check out my other stories on my page. Thank you for understanding.


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